Monitoring SSC can be challenging as direct sampling methods are labour intensive and indirect measurements are sensitive to changes in particle properties. Regardless, using ADCPs to predict SSC is promising because of the possibility to capture transport by combining with flow measurements. To reduce sensitivity to changing particle size, a methodology is proposed where acoustic particle radius is derived using multi-frequency backscatter obtained with a Nortek Signature1000 ADCP equipped with a vertical beam echosounder. Considering acoustic particle radii in an adapted backscatter-SSC model shows promising improvement in correlations with water sample reference measurements compared to the traditional single frequency approach based on a field test. Follow-up assessment is required to overcome limitations in dataset sample size and to investigate further improvements. Still, application of the method can significantly enhance capability of ADCPs predicting SSC and the ability to monitor suspended sediment transport using a single instrument.
