Underwater routing protocols: Analysis of link selection challenges

The sensor nodes deployed in underwater environment has different routing mechanism in contrast to the terrestrial network. Getting underwater data on pollution detection, control of the ecosystem, marine mining, catastrophe avoidance and strategic surveillance thereby demands smooth packet transmission which can only be possible through a stable and astute communication link between sensor nodes. Therefore, selecting best link between source and destination node is a key challenge. The meticulous research has been conducted to search out the best link selection mechanism of bodacious underwater routing protocol EnOR, SURS‐PES and USPF; and recommended the protocol that offers a shrewd communication link. The performance has been evaluated through NS2 simulation for packet delivery ratio, end-to-end delay, network lifespan and network energy consumption.