IMIS

ZooScan imaging data of suspended particulate matter (SPM) and plankton collected in the Belgian part of the North Sea within the TURBEAMS project, between March 2022 and December 2023. Samples were taken at stations MOW1, W05 and W08 at several depths, with additional sampling in sediment plumes and at the CODEVCO sites. They were scanned with the ZooScan, and all imaged objects were classified in EcoTaxa into plankton taxa and non-living particles (sediment, flocs, detritus). The data are used to assess whether plankton imaging tools can characterise the full size and compositional spectrum of SPM, and to relate image-derived particle properties to SPM concentration, turbidity and multibeam backscatter.