Lars Tierolf

Lars Tierolf is a Research Associate and PhD student at the Water and Climate Risk department within the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) at the Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He has been pursuing his PhD since November 2020 as part of the COASTMOVE project, focusing on modeling migration and adaptation behavior of people affected by long-term sea level rise.

His educational background includes:

• MSc in Earth Sciences (cum laude), University of Amsterdam (2020)
• BSc in Future Planet Studies, major Biology, University of Amsterdam (2018)

His master's thesis applied land-use modelling and flood risk assessment to investigate the impact of urban development on river flood risk in Southeast Asia.

Tierolf's research centers on climate-human interactions, employing computational models to quantify sea-level-rise impacts on coastal populations. His work bridges environmental science and social dynamics, with emphasis on flood-risk modeling, ecosystem resilience, and adaptation strategies in vulnerable regions like Southeast Asia and European coastlines. Key methodologies include agent-based simulation and spatial risk assessment, reflecting his expertise in interdisciplinary environmental analysis.

His publication trajectory reveals a focused evolution from regional flood-risk analysis (2021 Southeast Asia study) toward sophisticated human-behavior modeling under climate stressors, culminating in 2024's integrated framework for coastal migration dynamics. All works emphasize policy-relevant insights, leveraging socioeconomic pathways and risk-perception metrics to enhance climate adaptation planning.

As a core contributor to five research projects—including COASTMOVE (ERC-2019-ADG, 2020-2026) and NATURANCE (2022-2026)—Tierolf engages in high-impact collaborations spanning flood-risk modeling, nature-based insurance, and climate-adaptive infrastructure. No student supervision is documented.

He operates within Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam's Water and Climate Risk group, collaborating with cross-disciplinary teams under principal investigators like J. C. J. H. Aerts and T. Haer. This environment fosters integration of hydrological, socioeconomic, and behavioral data to address coastal vulnerability through innovative computational approaches.