Author Identifier (ORCID)
Sadaf Vahabli: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9925-4569
Iftekhar Ahmad: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4441-9631
Quoc Viet Phung: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6138-3944
Daryoush Habibi: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7662-6830
Ruba Zaheer: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4053-3293
Abstract
Underwater Acoustic Networks (UANs) are critical for enabling long-range underwater communication, supporting a wide range of applications, such as environmental monitoring, resource exploration, disaster prevention and marine security. Unfortunately, UANs operate within a limited acoustic spectrum, where these spectrums often overlap with those used by marine animals for communication, navigation and foraging. Additionally, anthropogenic noise from industrial activities contributes to acoustic pollution, intensifying this problem. This frequency overlap poses significant risks to marine life. Therefore, this review highlights the urgent need to develop environmentally aware UANs that minimize harmful acoustic interference with marine mammals, fish and invertebrates. Further, it focuses on network design challenges, examining their negative impacts, defining the concept of a marine-friendly network and establishing evaluation metrics to assess performance. This paper classifies existing marine-friendly UAN approaches into three main categories: spectrum management methods (including cognitive acoustic technologies), eco-friendly routing protocols, and prediction-based techniques. Each category is analyzed in terms of its strengths and limitations. Lastly, the review identifies current research gaps and outlines future directions to support the development of marine-friendly UANs that can effectively balance communication performance with marine conservation, toward a sustainable network.
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2025
Publication Title
Acoustics Australia
Publisher
Springer
School
School of Engineering
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of: Vahabli, S., Ahmad, I., Phung, Q. V., Habibi, D., Hasan, W. K., & Zaheer, R. (2025). Integrating environmental awareness in underwater acoustic networks: A comprehensive review. Acoustics Australia. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40857-025-00374-y
This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40857-025-00374-y