Aiming at problem of time synchronization in underwater sensor networks
a model for autonomous underwater vehicle( AUV) based on three-element array passive positioning method is designed. Based on this model
propose an AUV-assisted time synchronization algorithm( AUV-Sync)
which estimates relative distance by message exchange in process of relative movement between AUV and sensor nodes
and reduce error caused by nodes mobility by computing one-way propagation delay based on relative distance. By two rounds weighted least squares estimation( WLSE) to perform linear regression to estimate time synchronization parameters. Simulation results show that the AUV-Sync outperforms the existing synchronization algorithms for dynamic underwater sensor networks in precision considering drift of nodes.