Simon Mason

Senior Research Scientist
Climate, Disasters, International Outreach

  • Phone: +1 (845) 680-4514
  • Email: ude.aibmuloc.irinull@nomis
  • Address:Monell 232

Short Bio

Simon Mason has been involved in seasonal climate forecasting research and operations since the early 1990s. He was a member of the drafting team for the High-Level Task Force on the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) and was an overall author for the GFCS Implementation Plan. He has been heavily involved in capacity building activities, including leading the development and support of the Climate Predictability Tool (CPT). Mason has extensive experience in helping to establish and evaluate the Regional Climate Outlook Forums, and works closely with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to promote the definition and adoption of forecasting and verification standards, through engagement in relevant WMO Expert Teams and through the WMO Capacity Building Workshops. Mason has worked closely with various user groups, most notably in the health and disasters communities. Through these collaborations he has recently co-authored a book on climate information for public health action, and has worked with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre to identify the potential for use of seasonal and weather forecasts for humanitarian action. Mason joined the IRI in 1997, working initially at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where he helped to develop the IRI’s seasonal forecast system, and moving to Columbia University in 2003. Prior to joining the IRI, Mason was deputy director of the Climatology Research Group at the University of the Witwatersrand, in South Africa, where he developed empirical models for predicting southern African rainfall variability.

Research interests

  • forecast verification
  • climate forecasting
  • climate variability
  • climate and health
  • climate services
  • statistical methods in climate research

Role at the IRI

Mason is the IRI chief climate scientist, taking a lead role in international outreach from the IRI’s Climate Program. He is the lead-developer of the Climate Predictability Tool (CPT).

Awards

Publications

Codes and Tools