An efficient store-and-forward protocol for a shallow-water acoustic local area network

A store-and-forward protocol for a shallow-water acoustic local area network is presented. This protocol permits random deployment of an unlimited number of possibly mobile acoustic modems in littoral zones. Modem connectivity is adaptively learned and permits the incorporation of fresh modems into an operating network. The main points of the protocol initialization, maintenance, routing, and rerouting algorithms are presented. The protocol borrows from existing algorithms for packet radio networks and presents methods to decrease delay and retransmission of packets to conserve the limited modem power.<<ETX>>