Design and Evaluation of an Adaptive Fault Detection and Tolerance Mechanism for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) are a pivotal technology for ocean monitoring, underwater surveillance, and environmental sensing. However, these networks are vulnerable to numerous faults caused by adverse aquatic environments, scarce node resources, and unreliable acoustic communication. This paper presents an adaptive fault detection and tolerance mechanism specially designed for UWSNs. The proposed system integrates a hybrid fault detection approach, combining explicit and implicit approaches with a light-weight tolerance strategy leveraging multi-path rerouting and load-aware decision-making. A dynamic thresholding mechanism is used to enhance fault detection sensitivity and accuracy while ensuring energy efficiency. The mechanism is implemented and evaluated using MATLAB simulations with different fault densities and node behaviors. The findings show significant improvement in detection accuracy, less false alarm, lower latency, and better network lifetime when compared with traditional fault management schemes. This research is a step toward constructing fault-tolerant UWSNs that can maintain operations under the rough and uncertain nature of underwater environments.