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Macro- and mesolitter and pellet assessment in the Scheldt Estuary within the PlastFlow Project, 2024–2025
Citable as data publication
Diels, H.; Dhondt, C.; Town, R.; Meyers, N.; Catarino, A. I.; Bossaer, M.; Devriese, L.; Rondelez, J.; Balthazar, I.; Blust, R.; ECOSPHERE, University of Antwerp (UAntwerp); Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ): Belgium; (2025): Macro- and mesolitter and pellet assessment in the Scheldt Estuary within the PLASTFLOW Project, 2024–2025. Marine Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.14284/768

Availability: This work is licensed under http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/L08/current/MO meaning it is under moratorium until 2026-06-29

Description

Macro- and mesolitter and pellet observations from water and riverbanks in the Scheldt Estuary (2024–2025), collected and analysed within the PLASTFLOW project by the University of Antwerp and the Flanders Marine Institute.

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This dataset is part of the PLASTFLOW project and provides observations of macro- and mesolitter and pellet occurrence in the Scheldt Estuary. Riverbank litter was collected at several locations using a quadrant-based approach, while tidal-cycle macro- and mesolitter sampling was performed from the vessels RV Simon Stevin and Veremans using a bedload sampler for near-riverbed litter and a suspension sampler for litter in the water column. Sampling was performed during 2024–2025 at different locations in the Scheldt Estuary.


Scope
Themes:
Environmental quality/pollution > Site assessments/surveys
Keywords:
Brackish water · Hotspots · Macrolitter · Mesolitter · Plastic pellets · Plastics · Riverbank sampling · Tidal cycles · Water column · Schelde · Scheldt Estuary

Geographical coverage
Schelde [Marine Regions]
Scheldt Estuary [Marine Regions]

Temporal coverage
7 August 2024 - 10 April 2025
Seasonally

Parameters
Particle colour
Particle length
Particle mass
Particle shape
Particle transparency
Particle type
Particle width
Polymer type

Contributors
Universiteit Antwerpen; Faculteit Wetenschappen; Departement Biologie; ECOSPHERE, moredata creator

Project
PLASTFLOW: PLASTFLOW - Opvolgmeting in het kader van Doelstelling 9 van het Vlaams Actieplan Marien Zwerfvuil, more
Funding OVAM (Public Waste Agency of Flanders)

Publication
Describing this dataset
Meyers, N. et al. (2025). PLASTFLOW Final Report: Quantifying plastic fluxes and identifying plastic hotspots in the Scheldt Estuary (Deliverable 1.2). Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ): Ostend. 87 pp. https://dx.doi.org/10.48470/128, more

Dataset status: Completed
Data type: Data
Data origin: Research: field survey
Metadatarecord created: 2025-12-16
Information last updated: 2026-04-02
All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy