UC Santa Barbara geographer Dar Roberts will use the data for scientific inquiry. He also will share the information with students in NASA’s Student Airborne Research Program (SARP), for which he serves as the faculty advisor of the land group.

“The Sherpa fire provides an opportunity for some students to study fire and fuel properties,” said Roberts, a professor in UCSB’s Department of Geography. “We have all this data from before the fire for comparison. Plus, we’re in the worst drought in 120 years, so this unique combination of events presents a lot of interesting research possibilities.”