Articles | Volume 19, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3771-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3771-2015
Research article
 | 
08 Sep 2015
Research article |  | 08 Sep 2015

Transit times from rainfall to baseflow in headwater catchments estimated using tritium: the Ovens River, Australia

I. Cartwright and U. Morgenstern

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AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision
ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (Editor review) (18 Aug 2015) by Markus Hrachowitz
AR by Ian Cartwright on behalf of the Authors (28 Aug 2015)  Author's response   Manuscript 
ED: Publish as is (31 Aug 2015) by Markus Hrachowitz
AR by Ian Cartwright on behalf of the Authors (02 Sep 2015)
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Short summary
This study documents the age of water that contributes to rivers in upper catchments using the radioactive tracer tritium. River water in the upper Ovens Valley (Australia) is several years to decades old and water from different parts of the catchment (e.g., soil, regolith, and groundwater) is mobilised at different flow conditions. The results indicate that these rivers are buffered against short term climate variability but are susceptible to longer-term climate and land use changes