Sander Veraverbeke

Sander Veraverbeke is an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Climate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and an Associate Professor at the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute. His research focuses on climate change impacts on ecosystems, particularly wildfires in Arctic-boreal regions and their feedbacks to the climate system. He earned his PhD in Geography from Ghent University (2010), followed by postdoctoral research at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of California, Irvine.

• Grants:
  • FireIce (ERC Consolidator Grant, 2021-2026): Investigates Arctic fire-climate feedbacks and Siberian carbon emissions.
  • Fires Pushing Trees North (NWO Vidi, 2018-2024): Studies post-fire ecosystem shifts and carbon dynamics in Siberia.
• Awards: ERC Consolidator Grant (2020), NWO Vidi Grant (2018).

Research Interests: Combines fieldwork, modeling, and remote sensing to study wildfire impacts on carbon cycles, permafrost degradation, and climate feedbacks. Key focus areas include lightning-driven fires, overwintering fires, and policy-relevant fire management strategies.

Teaching: Courses include Environmental Remote Sensing (MSc), Earth Science Observation Research Methods (MSc), and Global Change (BSc).

Media Engagement: Regular contributor to BBC, Reuters, Nature, and National Geographic, discussing Arctic wildfires, 'zombie fires,' and climate change impacts.