A Direct Satellite-to-Underwater LIDAR-Based Communication System

Abstract

Direct satellite-to-underwater communications are a cutting-edge research frontier for innovative applications, such as real-time oceanographic data collection, disaster response and early warning systems, underwater exploration and mapping, scientific research, marine infrastructure maintenance and security surveillance. However, several challenges must be addressed to fully exploit satellite-to-underwater direct communications. In this paper we propose a model to explore the feasibility of such a direct air-to-underwater optical link for a LiDAR-based satellite communication system, in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The model is inspired by [1], and our results show that it is possible to achieve a good SNR level in absence of direct sunlight, both in the downlink and in the uplink direction. Future work will include possible interference due to sky brightness and moonlight and investigate how to improve the communication performance in presence of direct sunlight.