Guido van der Werf, Professor of Global Carbon Cycle and Land Use Change, is an authority on natural fires. He has shown that such fires are not local and temporary events, but a phenomenon that occurs almost everywhere in the world and all year round, with a major impact on people, nature and the climate. Using satellite photos, drones and smart analysis methods, Van der Werf has revealed that, worldwide, an area the size of Europe goes up in flames every year, with all sorts of vegetation catching fire.
He was the first to use satellite data to quantify the carbon dioxide emissions of these fires. Van der Werf’s research is of huge importance to society and has been quoted extensively, for example in the reports published by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
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