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This paper compares two approaches used to derive measures of annual sediment transfers within a 1 km long piedmont reach of the gravel-bed River Coquet in Northumberland, northern England. The techniques utilize:(i) channel planform and cross-section surveys based on a theodolite/electronic distance measurement (EDM) survey of 21 monumented channel cross-sections and channel and gravel bar margins; and (ii) theodolite-EDM survey generating a series of x, y, z coordinates, from which digital elevation models (DEMs) of the reach were constructed. Calculating the difference between DEM surfaces provided a measure of volumetric change between surveys carried out during the spring of 1999 and 2000. The use of kriging in DEM generation and differencing permits computation of estimate variances and confidence intervals for sediment transfer. Error analysis, validating the DEMs using surveyed …