<p>It's amazing how much water traveled down the slopes of California during the first two months of <a href="http://sf.curbed.com/maps/california-floods-storm-damage-map" rel="nofollow noreferrer">rain/flooding of 2017</a>.  Since the amount of water was far greater than anything in recent history, there were many landslides and widening of rivers.  As part of that process, there was a lot of sediment that traveled downstream.  Is there anyway to estimate how much sediment there was?  If so, how can we calculate it?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-31T13:10:33.367Z
I wonder if gravity measurements can do this, as for the Greenland ice cap, but I suspect the signal may be too small.
gerrit
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-24T02:21:57.040Z
There's a big spread in values between sediment that was merely  "dislodged" by precipitation, and sediment that was "carried" as far as the ocean. You may have to specify which sediment you're thinking of because the measuring technique will itself be specific.
Knob Scratcher
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-24T03:27:11.597Z
I'm thinking of any sediment carried away from its original location.  The amount that makes it to the ocean would be a different question I think.
f.thorpe
<sedimentology><flooding>
How can we estimate the amount of sediment that traveled downstream during the California flood?
f.thorpe
# How can we estimate the amount of sediment that traveled downstream during the California flood?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-02-23)

It's amazing how much water traveled down the slopes of California during the first two months of [rain/flooding of 2017](http://sf.curbed.com/maps/california-floods-storm-damage-map). Since the amount of water was far greater than anything in recent history, there were many landslides and widening of rivers. As part of that process, there was a lot of sediment that traveled downstream. Is there anyway to estimate how much sediment there was? If so, how can we calculate it?

**Tags:** sedimentology, flooding

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: There's a big spread in values between sediment that was merely  "dislodged" by precipitation, and sediment that was "carried" as far as the ocean. You may have to specify which sediment you're thinking of because the measuring technique will itself be specific.  
> **username_0**: I'm thinking of any sediment carried away from its original location.  The amount that makes it to the ocean would be a different question I think.  
> **username_1**: I wonder if gravity measurements can do this, as for the Greenland ice cap, but I suspect the signal may be too small.  

---

## 0 answers

