The Use of Flow Charts in Sediment Routing Analysis

Flow charts can be used to organize information, to describe a system, or to provide a framework for predictive calculations. At the least sophisticated level, a flow chart can be used to expose conceptual holes in our understanding of the relationships in a system. Such a chart need only be qualitative, though as the level of understanding increases and the recognized conceptual gaps occur at finer scales of resolution, the complexity of the flow chart and the need for quantification also increase. The same kinds of charts may be used to pinpoint critical, ratecontrolling steps deserving more careful evaluation.