Scott Goodrick

Center Director / Research Meteorologist
320 Green Street
Athens, GA 30602-2044
Phone: 706-559-4237
scott.l.goodrick@usda.gov

Featured Publications and Products

Publications

Research Highlights

Climate Change and Associated Fire Potential for the Southeastern United States in the 21st century (2014)
SRS-2014-133 This study examines how fire potential may change in the Southeast during the 21st century. While previous studies have focused on changes in just temperature and precipitation, this study takes a broader approach and examines changes in relative humidity, atmospheric stability, and drought.

QUIC-Fire: A Fast, 3-D Simulation Tool for Prescribed Fire Planning (2020)
SRS-2020-17 QUIC-Fire is the first fast-running 3D-coupled fire-atmosphere model that incorporates high-resolution 3D vegetation structure, interactions between multiple firelines, and fire-atmosphere feedbacks, which are critical for predicting the behavior of complex ignition patterns common on prescribed fires. QUIC-Fire is intended to serve as a core component of a prescribed fire planning tool that will assist land managers in understanding how ignition patterns connect to fire effects and smoke impacts.

Repeated Application of Fuel Reduction Treatments in the Southern Appalachian Mountains: Implications for Achieving Management Goals (2016)
SRS-2016-201 Fire managers in the southern Appalachian Mountains have many questions about the long-term use of prescribed fire and mechanical treatments. Common objectives include restoration that creates open woodlands, oak regeneration, and fuel reduction. The southern Appalachian site of the National Fire and Fire Surrogate study has been burned three times and a mechanical treatment has been conducted twice since 2002. This Forest Service research provides information to managers about reaching each of these three management objectives using fuel reduction treatments.

Rethinking how we measure forest fuels for advancing wildland fire science and management (2018)
SRS-2018-65 Land managers depend on quality fire research to advance their understanding of wildland fire behavior. Cutting-edge fire behavior models output fire spread, fire intensity, and smoke plumes in three-dimensions, but forest fuels, which are used as model inputs, are not measured in similar dimensions. This research brings fuels to the forefront of fire ecology and fire science. Fuels, when measured appropriately, link fire behavior and forest response to fire – critical knowledge for frequently burned ecosystems.

The Hot-Dry-Windy Index improves fire weather forecasting (2018)
PNW-2018-122 A new tool helps fire managers anticipate when wildfires could become erratic or dangerous.

Wildfire in the United States: Future Trends and Potential (2012)
SRS-2012-17 Climate models project warming and increased droughts this century in the continental United States, so wildfire is likely to increase accordingly