Climate & Ecosystems Change
We are Earth system scientists that seek a better understanding of the complex interactions between climate change, terrestrial ecosystems and the carbon cycle.
We use a combination of field, remote sensing and modeling methods. We have active field programs in Alaska and Canada. We analyze satellite data from ESA, NASA and other space agencies. We integrate climate datasets from reanalysis and climate models in our research.
We have a specific interest in the effects of high latitude climate change on fires, how these fires impact permafrost peatlands, and how carbon emissions from these fires influence climate. Our research group highlighted the role of lightning as a driver of intensifying arctic-boreal fire regimes. We were the first to discover and analyze the occurrence of overwintering fires, or zombie fires, in boreal forests.
Our group created the first global fire cause map (lightning vs. people) and we have expanded our research into other areas, such as Europe and tropical forests.
Our team is involved in collaborative international efforts such as NASA's Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment and the European COST network Firelinks. We share our results with land and fire managers. We regularly appear in national and international radio and television programs, newspapers and magazines.
At Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, we teach on remote sensing, climate change, fire and arctic-boreal ecosystems in BSc and MSc programs.
Iconic papers
Janssen, T., Jones, M., Finney, D., van der Werf, G., van Wees, D., Xu, W., & Veraverbeke, S. (2023). Extratropical forests increasingly at risk due to lightning fires. Nature Geoscience, 1-9.
Scholten, R., Coumou, D., Luo, F. & Veraverbeke, S. (2022). Early snowmelt and polar jet dynamics co-influence recent extreme Siberian fire seasons. Science, 378, 1005-1009.
Jones, M., Abatzoglou, J., Veraverbeke, S., Andela, N., Lasslop, G., Forkel, M., Smith, A., Burton, C., Betts, R., van der Werf, G., Sitch, S., Canadell, J., Santin, C., Kolden, C., Doerr, S., Le Quéré (2022). Global and regional trends of fire under climate change. Reviews of Geophysics, 60, e2020RG000726.
Scholten, R., Jandt, R., Miller, E., Rogers, B., & Veraverbeke, S. (2021). Overwintering fires in boreal forest. Nature, 593, 399-404.
Veraverbeke, S., Rogers, B., Goulden, M., Jandt, R., Miller, C., Wiggins, E., & Randerson, J. (2017). Lightning as a major driver of recent large fire years in North American boreal forests. Nature Climate Change, 7, 529-534.
