Waduge, Tharuka GovindaSeet, Boon-ChongVopel, Kay2024-09-102024-09-102024-09-04Journal of Sensor and Actuator Networks, ISSN: 2224-2708 (Online), MDPI AG, 13(5), 54-54. doi: 10.3390/jsan130500542224-2708http://hdl.handle.net/10292/17994Underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) is a field of research that has gained popularity with the development of unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) technologies. Its utilization is crucial in offshore industries engaging in sustainable alternatives for food production and energy security. Although UOWC can meet the high data rate and low latency requirements of underwater video transmission for UUV operations, the links that enable such communication are affected by the inhomogeneous light attenuation and the presence of sunlight. Here, we present how the underwater spectral distribution of the light field can be modeled along the depths of eight stratified oceanic water types. We considered other established models, such as SPCTRL2, Haltrin’s single parameter model for inherent optical properties, and a model for the estimation of the depth distribution of chlorophyll-a, and present insights based on transmission wavelength for the maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) under different optical link parameter combinations such as beam divergence and transmit power under “daytime” and “nighttime” conditions. The results seem to challenge the common notion that the blue-green spectrum is the most suitable for underwater optical communication. We highlight a unique relationship between the transmission wavelength for the optimal SNR and the link parameters and distance, which varies with depth depending on the type of oceanic water stratification. Our analyses further highlighted potential implications for solar discriminatory approaches and strategies for routing in cooperative optical wireless networks in the photic region.© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/0805 Distributed Computing0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering1005 Communications Technologies4009 Electronics, sensors and digital hardware4606 Distributed computing and systems softwareJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.3390/jsan13050054