Underwater Communication Networks
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: underwater sensor networks; integrated underwter sensing and communication; network security for underwater internet of things
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: underwater target detection; tracking and identification; underwater acoustic communication and networking; target detection and tracking based on the network
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Underwater Communication Networks (UCNs) are becoming increasingly vital for ocean exploration, environmental monitoring, defense systems, and offshore industrial operations. These networks face unique challenges compared to terrestrial wireless systems, including high propagation delays, severe signal attenuation, limited bandwidth, and dynamic underwater channel conditions. Addressing these challenges requires innovations across acoustic, optical, magnetic induction, and hybrid communication technologies, supported by advances in network protocols, AI-driven optimization, and robust security frameworks.
The growing need for reliable underwater data transmission—driven by applications such as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), underwater sensor networks (UWSNs), marine scientific research, and underwater infrastructure monitoring—has made UCNs a critical research area. This Special Issue aims to showcase cutting-edge developments in underwater communication and networking, with a focus on the following key themes:
- Underwater communication technologies;
- Underwater acoustic network protocol design;
- Machine learning and AI for underwater communication networks;
- Security of underwater communication networks;
- Applications of underwater communication networks.
This Special Issue invites high-quality theoretical and experimental research that advances the reliability, efficiency, intelligence, and security of underwater communication networks. We welcome contributions on novel architectures, protocols, signal processing techniques, and real-world deployments that address the unique challenges of the underwater environment.
Dr. Ruiqin Zhao
Prof. Dr. Xiaohong Shen
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- underwater acoustic network
- underwater acoustic communication
- underwater sensor networks
- underwater optical communication
- underwater network protocols
- underwater network security
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