Resource Allocation for Hierarchical Underwater Sensor Networks

Abstract—We investigate data collection over an underwater acoustic communication network, where sensor nodes are deployed to measure an environmental process. To enhance the energy-efficiency, the network is organized into a hierarchical structure, in which multiple local fusion centers collect the information and convey it to a master fusion center. The master fusion center then recovers the map of the sensing field. We exploit the unique properties of the underwater signal propagation to allocate resources efficiently across the network, resulting in overall savings in the energy and a reduction in the minimum necessary bandwidth. I