Data underlying the publication: Detection of suspended macroplastics using Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) echo

Dataset of ADCP data used to test to which extend items are detectable using ADCP echo. The objectives of the exploratory research were to: (1) determine the range of echo intensity and the effect item characteristics, such as orientation, form and material, have on this echo intensity, (2) confirm the detectability of the plastic items in a natural environment with other disturbances such as air bubbles and aquatic life, and (3) evaluate an ADCP plastic monitoring method in the field with simultaneous net measurements. We deployed three ADCPs in three different environments. In a basin and harbor, (semi-)controlled experiments are undertaken where an ADCP is fixed horizontally below the water surface and plastics are introduced within the beam. In a river an uncontrolled experiment is undertaken, where a vessel mounted ADCP is deployed and 'naturally' present plastics are studied. The dataset contains raw ADCP data files.