On the MIMO multipath channels spatial correlation in shallow water communications

Acoustic communications in underwater environment are considerably influenced by the physical characteristics of the medium. This is even more true in the polar regions where the presence of icebergs and icy water layers represent an additional dependence to the signal propagation. Considering a MIMO scenario, we investigate how the channels spatial correlation is conditioned in the case of both frozen and fluid water surface. More, we evaluate the impact of the medium changes on the signal delay spread.