Articles | Volume 20, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-2987-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-2987-2016
Research article
 | 
26 Jul 2016
Research article |  | 26 Jul 2016

Insights into the water mean transit time in a high-elevation tropical ecosystem

Giovanny M. Mosquera, Catalina Segura, Kellie B. Vaché, David Windhorst, Lutz Breuer, and Patricio Crespo

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Short summary
This study focuses on the investigation of baseflow mean transit times (MTTs) in a high-elevation tropical ecosystem (páramo) using stable water isotopes. Results showed short MTTs (< 9 months) and topographic controls on their spatial variability. We conclude that (1) the hydrology of the ecosystem is dominated by shallow subsurface flow and (2) the interplay between the high storage capacity of the páramo soils and the catchments' slopes provides the ecosystem with high regulation capacity.
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