Accurate positioning for underwater acoustic networks

An accurate underwater positioning structure which is able to assist real-time ocean observing systems and applications by providing position information of the nodes which form the underwater acoustic network for area identification purposes is developed. We argue that the most important network parameters such as the maximum communication range which strongly depends on the water properties such as depth, temperature and salinity as well as transmission parameters such as frequency and delay should be considered and integrated while designing accurate underwater positioning systems in order to achieve a good system performance. The results of a detailed impact study of network parameter variations and their impact in our positioning structure in terms of accuracy and coverage is presented.