This study evaluates the uncertainty in the estimation of annual and monthly sediment flows in four mountain basins of the Pacific Ocean in Peru. For this end, samples at different time scales (hourly, daily, and monthly) were recorded. The database was broken down into a numerical base to simulate several sampling frequencies. From these timing frequencies, the annual and monthly flow was computed. Likewise, we compare the observed and simulated data, calculating the degree of uncertainty using statistical tests. The results for the 25 and 75 percentiles show that there is a high temporal variability in these Andean watersheds, whose strategy of measurement of solid flows can vary from six to 12 days, thus underestimating ~ 20% annually. While for estimating suspended sediment yield (SY) to a monthly time step in the rainy season (December to May), a sampling frequency between 1-5 days,...

Hydro-sedimentology development in comparison to other hydrology issues has been limited in Peru. The main challenge is related to the record and its availability. First, because the record gaps and its dispersion. Second, it is concerned with the reliability of the information. As a result, little is known about the relationship between mountain catchment location, precipitation, runoff, geomorphology, land use, anthropogenic influence, the El Niño influence and the sediment transport dynamics at the present. A new national hydro-sedimentology dataset (1948-2012) is available from continuous levels flow records (limnigraph), periodic gauging discharge, turbidity records and hourly suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) samples. In the end, the whole dataset was criticized and treated under a consistent methodology. Uncertainty during monthly and annual sediment flows estimation were c...