Proof of concept for a global semi-autonomous river plastic monitoring system

Proof of concept for a global semi-autonomous river plastic monitoring system | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Proof of concept for a global semi-autonomous river plastic monitoring system Stijn Pinson, Andre Vollering This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7263232/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Understanding, predicting and preventing anthropogenic debris transport through rivers benefits from monitoring and comprehension of the dynamics of plastic transport from an hourly to multi-annual scale. Existing methodologies for the monitoring of plastic transport are not suited for long, continuous observation periods or lack a rigorous comparability between locations. This paper proposes and tests a strategy and methodology for the monitoring and quantification of floating macroplastic transport in rivers, that is suitable for multi-year periods and comparable between locations. Camera deployments on bridges that focus on longevity and standardization of data collection in combination with object detection and tracking techniques resulted in high-frequency data of plastic and plastic transport from 11 locations worldwide spanning multiple years. This tracking and detection methodology can be transferred to new locations with low effort in model retraining. Comparison to visual counting measurements show that we can measure the same dynamics and ranges of transport. We also demonstrate that this technique allows us to measure the surface flow speed and tidal fluctuations of plastic debris in rivers as well as identify high intensity plastic transport events, such as floods. This paper offers a complete monitoring method for the transport of floating macroplastic debris which can be used to improve plastic transport models and measure the effects of policy and mitigation strategies of plastic waste in rivers. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Hydrology Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files PaperSupplementaryMaterialsProofofconceptforaglobalsemiautonomousriverplasticmonitoringsystem.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 24 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 20 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Sep, 2025 Reviews received at journal 19 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Aug, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 05 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 05 Aug, 2025 Editor invited by journal 05 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 04 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 04 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7263232","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":496005386,"identity":"440fa407-8148-423a-94c8-58171125950e","order_by":0,"name":"Stijn Pinson","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABNklEQVRIie2Sv0rDQBjAv1Coy0nWk0jyClcO0ooRH8TlQuFcIhQcdAj0oOCUB4g49BXq4hw5OJdC14AZAoXMhS4FF08lWpJWHB3uNxwf3/Hj+3MHYDD8SyxB9Ik+4xVkdXqw3+huKVbKvhX8i7IVd9BfFG86EdcjKI77tlTLs03h2gfyeT2KsWs/JH4JcXDRUIiyBE2hQicpv6QRq+hRwodOqjDFxbxPQPEr0VD0LBSBRCRHvhMxGc5yRJxDgUORRz62hGwq3l2tLOa+M2ByPMvt9ZtWxtM9CqhaySLfASaZLtf9qKKD3QpRoVZIpRvjXI8he/cJ90+Rwr3HnN8Q1p7Fm7xUFN0W52QhFd4E0tMbW76iOPDcfPhUruKg1Zh+GQIka2W/roDtzHdK+PknTcVgMBgMAO9Bm2/SUJG6QQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"The Ocean Cleanup","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Stijn","middleName":"","lastName":"Pinson","suffix":""},{"id":496005387,"identity":"caadabda-be37-44e7-8dcf-7ea16beb600b","order_by":1,"name":"Andre Vollering","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The Ocean Cleanup","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Andre","middleName":"","lastName":"Vollering","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-31 14:23:24","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7263232/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7263232/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-48630-z","type":"published","date":"2026-04-27T15:58:14+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108438009,"identity":"c055269d-2780-42d1-9df5-2240cbbdcda3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-04 16:05:33","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":993032,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Proofofconceptforaglobalsemiautonomousriverplasticmonitoringsystem.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7263232/v1_covered_de2e89fc-3877-4263-b036-b3975e1db0d2.pdf"},{"id":88591403,"identity":"a67f79f2-6087-4b23-a93d-999ec37f747b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-08 05:43:38","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":47062388,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PaperSupplementaryMaterialsProofofconceptforaglobalsemiautonomousriverplasticmonitoringsystem.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7263232/v1/32991754123aaaa08924db80.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Proof of concept for a global semi-autonomous river plastic monitoring system","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7263232/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7263232/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eUnderstanding, predicting and preventing anthropogenic debris transport through rivers benefits from monitoring and comprehension of the dynamics of plastic transport from an hourly to multi-annual scale. 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