Dear Authors,

Thank you for your responses. I completely understand that from the author's perspective, you lean towards agreeing with reviewer 1!

I hope that you will understand that coming from the editor's perspective, and from the perspective of ensuring the highest quality of article in HESS, I am less inclined to dismiss the concerns raised by reviewer 2, and must ask you to engage with them seriously.

I appreciate that there may be a difference of expectations between that reviewer and your intentions, yet it is also apparent that reviewer 2 provided a thorough and detailed read of the study, and that their feedback should not be dismissed out of hand.

In particular, if you feel there is a mismatch in expectations between the authors and the reviewer, it is important as the authors that you clear up such confusion in revisions to prevent similar misunderstandings by future readers.

Therefore, I am suggesting (a) a major revision, and (b) asking you to please target this revision, as best as possible, towards allaying the concerns raised by Reviewer 2. Where there is genuine misunderstanding, please clear this up; otherwise, please attempt to respond constructively to their feedback.

Yours truly,

Sally Thompson

Thank you for your efforts in revision - the manuscript has improved in clarity.