Shannon Mason
@mason_shannon
Followers
457
Following
10K
Media
17
Statuses
280
Atmospheric scientist, ECMWF & University of Reading, probing clouds from space. A forgetful vessel for cloud physics, Jorge Luis Borges, wind and wave energy.
Reading, England
Joined September 2010
☁️✈️ Contrails under EarthCARE’s spotlight! ☁️✈️ Aviation contributes 2.5% of carbon dioxide emissions, yet the industry is responsible for 5% of global warming. #Contrails are part of that story – and @esa's EarthCARE satellite has the perfect instruments to measure them.
1
6
12
🛰️ @esa_earthcare has measured atmospheric ripples -gravity waves- inside clouds for the first time from space. In August 2025, inside clouds over Antarctica, these waves cooled the air and triggered ice crystal formation, enhancing cloud formation. Here's the full story:
8
82
270
SNEAK PREVIEW! EarthCARE marks another first from space - gravity wave-enhanced ice clouds over Antarctica 🍎 〰️ ❄️ 🌨️ 🐧 On 7 August 2025, the European Space Agency - ESA's EarthCARE satellite observed a large-scale cloud over West Antarctica that highlights its unique
0
6
10
We're hearing about some of these Level-2 products now at our validation workshop. Nice to hear from Hajime Okamoto and @ECMWF's Shannon Mason @mason_shannon on cloud and precipitation products from @JAXA_en and @esa
Big news!! EarthCARE’s Level-2 data products are now fully available, offering users more precise and detailed atmospheric profiling data 🤩 https://t.co/qSRflPBD11
1
3
8
Big news!! EarthCARE’s Level-2 data products are now fully available, offering users more precise and detailed atmospheric profiling data 🤩 https://t.co/qSRflPBD11
0
12
26
The #EarthCARE satellite will improve the modelling of #clouds, #aerosols and #precipitation in several ways. Find out about using EarthCARE’s instruments to infer the properties of clouds and how they interact with radiation ➡️ https://t.co/P5Bu1Svx15
1
6
14
Huge news for #EarthCARE Our four instruments are all fired up. Now, see how they all work in combination to probe the power of clouds and aerosols! The video shows data from 18 Sep, including the various features of a thunderstorm over Italy ⛈️☔ 👉 https://t.co/qEE3Rxnh9C
2
17
46
Worth the wait! Our ATLID lidar is beaming bright 🤩 Now all four of EarthCARE's instruments are up and running, taking us a step closer to full commissioning. The results already look spectacular. Check out this image of aerosols over Africa! https://t.co/gNtF78Zwaa
0
8
24
Hello broadband radiometer! This 🗺️ shows brightness in the forward view along our orbital path... how much ☀️ is reflected back to space! White bright #clouds reflect lots of ☀️ (red). The sea reflects little ☀️ back to the 🛰️ and appears dark (blue) https://t.co/OKFhFukYQ6
1
5
14
Announcing the second #EarthCARE launch - this time of the X account! Follow @esa_earthcare for detailed updates from the mission.
Think you know #clouds? Think again! #EarthCARE will demystify these big and misty, often thin and wispy, and occasionally thunderous behemoths. We’ll also shine a light on aerosols like pollution and dust, and how they and clouds regulate Earth's #climate. Follow us for more!
0
4
17
Think you know #clouds? Think again! #EarthCARE will demystify these big and misty, often thin and wispy, and occasionally thunderous behemoths. We’ll also shine a light on aerosols like pollution and dust, and how they and clouds regulate Earth's #climate. Follow us for more!
1
21
49
The first results from the #EarthCARE cloud profiling radar 👇🛰️🌎 NCEO Dr Kamil Mroz and @mason_shannon leading the development of algorithms to create these vertical profiles of clouds. We're excited to see results from all 4 instruments shortly!
This is fantastic⬇️ You are looking at #EarthCARE cloud profiling radar first results: On the left: vertically-resolved concentration of cloud particles measured as radar reflectivity. On the right, the top layer includes ice crystals and snowflakes ℹ️ https://t.co/Y9YkRoLS4Y
1
3
9
The first results from #EarthCARE cloud profiling radar are here! Here's how they look like and why you should be as excited as we are: https://t.co/A8sYCdB84D The radar was provided by @JAXA_en and it's one of the four instruments aboard the satellite.
3
55
131
#EarthCARE - our White Dragon - due for launch in the next two weeks! I'm loving the new logo! https://t.co/fvte5aVD9x
6
10
25
Very few people have been as pivotal to getting #EarthCARE to the brink of launch as Dr Tobias Wehr, Mission Scientist at @esa from 2006 until 2023 when he tragically passed away aged 57. His passion, wisdom & diplomacy were critical to overcoming the many challenges we... (1/4)
1
8
20
Find out how a new @ESA and @JAXA_en satellite called EarthCARE, to be launched later this month, will provide unprecedented data on #clouds and #aerosols that will help us to initialise our weather forecasts and improve physical processing in the model. ➡️ https://t.co/bfFDTBeNsy
0
11
46
New paper led by Shannon Mason @mason_shannon: "A unified synergistic retrieval of clouds, aerosols, and precipitation from EarthCARE: the ACM-CAP product", with Alessio Bozzo and Nicola Pounder... (1/7)
amt.copernicus.org
Abstract. ACM-CAP provides a synergistic best-estimate retrieval of all clouds, aerosols, and precipitation detected by the atmospheric lidar (ATLID), cloud-profiling radar (CPR), and multi-spectral...
1
4
13
The only thing better than reaching over 30% @UCU voting confirmation in the #ucuRISING ballot is to reach over 35% just a few days later @ReadingUCU...40% here we come @DrJoGrady @janetfarrarUCU @MorayMcAulay @justinemercer11
0
3
19
Machine Learning Emulation of 3D Cloud Radiative Effects: new paper by David Meyer, @PDueben, @mason_shannon and myself. Rather than use a neural network to make a physical parameterization in a weather/climate model faster for the same accuracy,... (1/3)
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Emulators are used to add 3D cloud effects to the fast 1D radiation solver Tripleclouds cheaply Emulators are trained on 3D cloud effects from SPARTACUS, which is five times slower than Tripleclo...
1
5
24
The Mapledurham estate in South Oxfordshire was first enclosed for William De Warrene, as a reward for his help in the siege of England in 1066. These days, its 2000 acres is defended not only by gamekeepers and barbed wire but by drones and CCTV in the woods. A thread.
37
627
2K