Abstract:
In recent years, communication technology has improved exponentially, partly owing to the locations and nature of the
deployment of sensor nodes. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) comprise these sensor nodes and can provide real-time
physical and environmental measurements. The sensor nodes have limited power, which reduces their lifespan, especially when
placed in human-inaccessible locations. This paper reviews energy-efficient protocols for environmental monitoring
applications and energy harvesting-wireless sensor networks. The dynamic deployment and communication challenges
associated with environmental monitoring applications (EMAs) make this paper take into account the WSN protocol stack,
focusing on the physical layer, network layer (routing), and medium access control (MAC). The paper will delve deeper into
the security challenges of deploying sensor nodes for environmental monitoring applications (EMAs). The paper further
describes scientific approaches that churn out innovative and engineering applications that must be followed to improve
environmental monitoring applications.
