How does groundwater affect river flow in Europe?

Groundwater plays an important role in river flow, but groundwater and river flow dynamics have often been considered separately, particularly at large scales. In recent years there has been an increased focus on understanding the influence of groundwater on river flow across different geographies, with the timing and magnitude of this relationship varying between locations and across time. Despite this, finding clear evidence of the specific influence of groundwater on river flow is challenging as no method can fully resolve their relationship. We seek to better understand the role of groundwater in river flow across Europe using data from thousands of catchments. This analysis includes investigation into timescales of catchment memory and the correlation of baseflow conditions to annual and seasonal river flow. We further investigate the spatial nature of these elements, including how these are linked to local catchment properties and the regional associations and larger patterns across catchments.