Mass received a B.S. in Physics from Cornell University in 1974. As an undergraduate, Mass performed research on Martian weather with astrophysicist Carl Sagan, and on the role of sun spots and volcanic eruptions on historical climate conditions with climatologist Stephen Schneider. He received his PhD in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington in 1978 with a dissertation on the role of African wave disturbances and climate variation in the Sahel region.
Academic career
Before joining the faculty of the University of Washington, Mass was a professor of meteorology at the University of Maryland from 1978-1981. He leads the University of Washington Mesoscale Analysis and Forecasting Group and is the chief scientist of the Northwest Modeling Consortium. He has published over 120 articles in peer-reviewed scientific venues, and served on the board of over a dozen regional and national meteorological committees, conferences, and scientific journals.
Outreach and scientific advocacy
Mass maintains a popular weblog in which he posts regular articles on meteorology, Pacific Northwest weather history, and the impacts of climate change written for the general public. According to Mass, "Global warming is an extraordinarily serious issue, and scientists have a key role to play in communicating what is known and what is not about this critical issue." Mass has stated publicly that he shares the scientific consensus that global warming is real and that human activity is a major cause of warming trend in the late 20th and 21st centuries. He has been critical of the Paris Climate accord for not going far enough to address the negative impacts of climate change. However, Mass is frequently critical of and has expressed concern that when media and environmental organizations make exaggerated claims about the current impacts of climate change, or cite climate change as the cause of specific weather events. He is concerned about misinforming the public about a key societal issue, distracting public and governmental attention from more immediate environmental concerns, and stifling opportunities for effective bipartisan policy-making to slow climate change and mitigate its effects. His statements on the severity and progression of anthropogenic global warming have elicited condemnation from The Stranger as well as members of activist environmental organizations due to concerns that Mass's scientific approach to understanding and communicating the risks associated with global warming could result in public apathy or be used by climate change deniers to bolster their claims. Mass advocated for the acquisition and installation of the Langley Hill Doppler weather radar in 2011, the first on the Washington coast. In 2016, Mass advocated in favor of Washington Initiative I-732, which would have been the first carbon tax measure in the United States. Mass later advocated against a different initiative to enact a carbon fee, Washington Initiative I-1631, in 2018, suggesting it was highly regressive and ineffective. Both measures were rejected. His 2018 opposition was used by the "No on 1631" campaign, and drew condemnation from some alternative newspapers..
Personal life
Mass, who is Jewish, has stated the value of tikkun olam has informed his approach to science.
