Underwater channel modeling for a relative positioning system

Underwater acoustic channel modeling keeps being an active field of research, despite the fact that the physical effects are known since decades ago. The great variability that is found in this kind of channel makes modeling a difficult task, being highly dependent on a particular environment. For high frequencies, ray tracing is a simple and reliable solution, giving a good approximation and a lot of information about the propagation properties. In this work, an underwater acoustic channel model based on ray tracing is presented. This model takes into account the common phenomena such us sound speed profiles and transmission loss, as well as the dynamic effect of swell. The model is then used to simulate the sound propagation for a relative positioning system, which measures the surface current, obtaining a good estimation of the value of the current.