Climate controls on water chemistry states and dynamics in rivers across
Australia
Abstract
We need to understand spatial variability in the mean concentrations and
dynamics of riverine water quality for effective water quality
management. Using river chemistry data for up to 578 locations across
the Australian continent, we assessed the impact of climate zones on (i)
interannual mean concentration and (ii) river chemistry dynamics as
represented by constituent export regimes (ratio of the coefficients of
variation of concentration and discharge) and export patterns (slope of
the concentration-discharge relationship). We found that interannual
mean concentrations vary significantly by climate zones. However, export
regimes and patterns are generally consistent across climate zones. This
suggests that intrinsic properties of individual constituents rather
than catchment properties determine export regimes and patterns. The
spatially consistent river chemistry dynamics highlights the potential
to predict riverine water quality across the Australian continent, which
will support national riverine water quality management.