With each new wildfire season comes talk that the new season is worse than the last. With recent fires raging in the western u.s., the Australian bush, the Taiga of Siberia, and the forests of France. Many point to climate change as a cause of extreme fires, and scientists are creating more specificated ways of examining that relationship. That is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Dr. Jessica McCarty.

Dr. Jessica McCarty (@jmccarty_geo) is an Associate Professor of Geography and Director of the Geospatial Analysis Center at Miami University. She has 15 years' experience in applications of geospatial and data science to terrestrial and atmospheric studies. Her expertise includes wildland and prescribed fire, agriculture and food security, land-cover/land-use change, natural resources, and climate change. She has author/co-author of 27 peer-reviewed journal articles, 12 peer-reviewed conference proceedings, 3 book chapters, 4 technical reports, 3 data citations, and 1 NASA Technology Transfer. She has served as Principal Investigator and/or Co-Investigator on NASA, EPA, USDA, and NSF grants on use of remote sensing for prescribed fire, carbon emissions, air quality, LCLUC, and agriculture/food security.