diff --git a/src/__tests__/areas.ts b/src/__tests__/areas.ts
index aea41608..009b48b6 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/areas.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/areas.ts
@@ -98,6 +98,27 @@ describe('areas API', () => {
         })
     })
 
+    it('retrieves an area and its cumulative media weight', async () => {
+      const response = await queryAPI({
+        query: `
+          query area($input: ID) {
+            area(uuid: $input) {
+              uuid
+              imageByteSum
+            }
+          }
+        `,
+        operationName: 'area',
+        variables: { input: ca.metadata.area_id },
+        userUuid,
+        app
+      })
+      expect(response.statusCode).toBe(200)
+      const areaResult = response.body.data.area
+      expect(areaResult.uuid).toBe(muuidToString(ca.metadata.area_id))
+      expect(areaResult.imageByteSum).toBe(0)
+    })
+
     it('retrieves an area omitting organizations that exclude it', async () => {
       const response = await queryAPI({
         query: areaQuery,
diff --git a/src/graphql/resolvers.ts b/src/graphql/resolvers.ts
index b173a03d..bca1890e 100644
--- a/src/graphql/resolvers.ts
+++ b/src/graphql/resolvers.ts
@@ -221,9 +221,10 @@ const resolvers = {
       return []
     },
 
-    aggregate: async (node: AreaType) => {
-      return node.aggregate
-    },
+    aggregate: async (node: AreaType) => node.aggregate,
+
+    imageByteSum: async (node: AreaType, _, { dataSources: { areas } }: GQLContext) =>
+      await areas.computeImageByteSum(node.metadata.area_id),
 
     ancestors: async (parent) => parent.ancestors?.split(',') ?? [],
 
diff --git a/src/graphql/schema/Area.gql b/src/graphql/schema/Area.gql
index cd717eff..126ad571 100644
--- a/src/graphql/schema/Area.gql
+++ b/src/graphql/schema/Area.gql
@@ -79,6 +79,15 @@ type Area {
   authorMetadata: AuthorMetadata!
   "Organizations associated with this area or its parent areas"
   organizations: [Organization]
+  
+  """
+  If you were to sum all approximate image sizes for this area, you get
+  a kind of picture of what the cost to cache all of the media in a given
+  area might be. You could use this to indicate a recommended compression
+  ratio or maybe know ahead of time if a given cache exercise would exceed
+  current storage capacity.
+  """
+  imageByteSum: Int!
 }
 
 """
diff --git a/src/model/AreaDataSource.ts b/src/model/AreaDataSource.ts
index a027f3f6..1c27d5ec 100644
--- a/src/model/AreaDataSource.ts
+++ b/src/model/AreaDataSource.ts
@@ -133,6 +133,30 @@ export default class AreaDataSource extends MongoDataSource<AreaType> {
     return rs
   }
 
+  async computeImageByteSum (uuid: muuid.MUUID): Promise<number> {
+    const descendantUuids = await this.areaModel.find({
+      ancestors: { $regex: new RegExp(`(?:^|,)${uuid.toString()}(?:,|$)`) }
+    }, { 'metadata.area_id': 1, climbs: 1 })
+
+    return await this.mediaObjectModal.aggregate([
+      {
+        $match: {
+          'entityTags.targetId': {
+            $in: [...descendantUuids.map(i => i.metadata.area_id),
+              ...descendantUuids.reduce((prev, curr) => [...prev, ...curr.climbs], [])
+            ]
+          }
+        }
+      },
+      {
+        $group: {
+          _id: null,
+          totalSize: { $sum: '$size' }
+        }
+      }
+    ]).then(d => d[0]?.totalSize) ?? 0
+  }
+
   /**
    * Find a climb by uuid.  Also return the parent area object (crag or boulder).
    *
diff --git a/src/model/__tests__/AreaDataSource.test.ts b/src/model/__tests__/AreaDataSource.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2afe3d62
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/model/__tests__/AreaDataSource.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+import { getAreaModel, createIndexes } from "../../db"
+import inMemoryDB from "../../utils/inMemoryDB"
+import MutableAreaDataSource from "../MutableAreaDataSource"
+import muid, { MUUID } from 'uuid-mongodb'
+import { AreaType  } from "../../db/AreaTypes"
+import AreaDataSource from "../AreaDataSource"
+import MutableMediaDataSource from "../MutableMediaDataSource"
+import { MediaObjectGQLInput } from "../../db/MediaObjectTypes"
+import MutableClimbDataSource from "../MutableClimbDataSource"
+import muuid from 'uuid-mongodb'
+
+
+function mediaInput(val: number) {
+    return {
+  userUuid: 'a2eb6353-65d1-445f-912c-53c6301404bd',
+  mediaUrl: `/u/a2eb6353-65d1-445f-912c-53c6301404bd/photo${val}.jpg`,
+  width: 800,
+  height: 600,
+  format: 'jpeg',
+  size: 45000 + Math.floor(Math.random() * 100)
+} satisfies MediaObjectGQLInput}
+
+describe("Test area data source", () => {
+    let areas: AreaDataSource
+    let rootCountry: AreaType
+    let areaCounter = 0
+    const testUser = muid.v4()
+
+    async function addArea(name?: string, extra?: Partial<{ leaf: boolean, boulder: boolean, parent: MUUID | AreaType}>) {
+        function isArea(x: any): x is AreaType {
+            return typeof x.metadata?.area_id !== 'undefined'
+        }
+
+        areaCounter += 1
+        if (name === undefined || name === 'test') {
+            name = process.uptime().toString() + '-' + areaCounter.toString()
+        }
+
+        let parent: MUUID | undefined = undefined
+        if (extra?.parent) {
+            if (isArea(extra.parent)) {
+                parent = extra.parent.metadata?.area_id
+            } else {
+                parent = extra.parent
+            }
+        }
+
+        return MutableAreaDataSource.getInstance().addArea(
+            testUser,
+            name,
+            parent ?? rootCountry.metadata.area_id,
+            undefined,
+            undefined,
+            extra?.leaf,
+            extra?.boulder
+        )
+    }
+
+    beforeAll(async () => {
+        await inMemoryDB.connect()
+        await getAreaModel().collection.drop()
+        await createIndexes()
+        areas = MutableAreaDataSource.getInstance()
+        // We need a root country, and it is beyond the scope of these tests
+        rootCountry = await MutableAreaDataSource.getInstance().addCountry("USA")
+      })
+
+    afterAll(inMemoryDB.close)
+
+    describe("Image size summing", () => {
+        test("Area image size summing should not produce false counts", async () => {
+            const area = await addArea()
+            const val = await areas.computeImageByteSum(area.metadata.area_id)
+            expect(val).toBe(0)
+        })
+
+        test("Area image size summing should work for direct tags", async () => {
+            const area = await addArea()
+            const media = MutableMediaDataSource.getInstance()
+            const [object] = await media.addMediaObjects([mediaInput(0)])
+            media.upsertEntityTag({ entityType: 1, entityUuid: area.metadata.area_id, mediaId: object._id })
+            const val = await areas.computeImageByteSum(area.metadata.area_id)
+            expect(val).toBe(object.size)
+        })
+
+        test("Area image size summing should work for direct tags to children", async () => {
+            const media = MutableMediaDataSource.getInstance()
+            const area = await addArea()
+            let child = area
+            let sizeAccumulator = 0
+            for (const idx of Array.from({ length: 10}).map((_, idx) => idx)) {
+                child = await addArea(undefined, { parent: child.metadata.area_id})
+                const [object] = await media.addMediaObjects([mediaInput((idx + 1) * 10)])
+                media.upsertEntityTag({ entityType: 1, entityUuid: child.metadata.area_id, mediaId: object._id })
+
+                // We always query the top level
+                expect(await areas.computeImageByteSum(area.metadata.area_id).then(d => {
+                    sizeAccumulator += d
+                    return sizeAccumulator
+                })).toBe(sizeAccumulator)
+                // equally, we expect the child to not get reverse-polluted
+                expect(await areas.computeImageByteSum(child.metadata.area_id)).toBe(object.size)
+            }
+        })
+
+        test("Area image size summing should work for direct tags to climbs", async () => {
+            const area = await addArea()
+            const media = MutableMediaDataSource.getInstance()
+            const climbs = MutableClimbDataSource.getInstance()
+            const child = await addArea(undefined, { parent: area.metadata.area_id})
+            expect(await areas.computeImageByteSum(area.metadata.area_id)).toBe(0)
+            expect(await areas.computeImageByteSum(child.metadata.area_id)).toBe(0)
+
+            const [object] = await media.addMediaObjects([mediaInput(2 * 100)])
+            const [climb] = await climbs.addOrUpdateClimbs(object.userUuid, child.metadata.area_id, [{
+                name: "climb",
+                grade: "6c+"
+            }])
+
+            media.upsertEntityTag({ entityType: 0, entityUuid: muuid.from(climb), mediaId: object._id })
+            expect(await areas.computeImageByteSum(area.metadata.area_id)).toBe(object.size)
+        })
+    })
+})
\ No newline at end of file