A system and method for determining particulate accumulation in a gas turbine engine includes sensing the number, size, and type of particulate at a first position on the gas turbine engine and supplying first data representative thereof, where the first position located at a first side of a gas turbine engine component; sensing the number, size, and type of particulate at a second position on the gas turbine engine and supplying first data representative thereof, where the second position located at a second side of the gas turbine engine component and downstream of the first position; and processing the first data and the second data to determine the mass of the particulate accumulated on the gas turbine engine component.