Understanding the Ocean’s Role in the Climate System

Over the past several decades, parallel advances in observing systems and the development of climate models have revealed the key role that our oceans play in setting past, present, and future climate states. Developing climate adaptation and mitigation strategies lies in building a deep understanding of the current state of our oceans and how ocean circulation and properties will evolve throughout the 21st century and beyond. Temple professor Becki Beadling will discuss the role of the ocean in a changing climate and how we can use both climate models and observations to improve our understanding and reduce our uncertainty in projected climate change.

About the Speaker

Becki Beadling is an assistant professor at Temple University who uses observations and climate model simulations to understand the ocean’s role in the climate system. She designs and teaches courses on climate dynamics and climate change. Her research focuses on ocean circulation and processes within the Southern Ocean, their projected changes under continued warming, and the role these remote processes play in the global climate.

Beadling also works to develop tools to identify and understand causes of biases in coupled climate model simulations. In close collaboration with NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, she contributes to the development and analysis of high resolution coupled climate models. She is also actively involved in international climate model intercomparison projects and serves as a member of the World Climate Research Programme’s Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Model (CMIP) Benchmarking Task Team. The efforts of this CMIP task team will play a key role in shaping future climate model development globally and model analysis for the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

About the Series

Science on Tap is a monthly speaker series that features brief, informal presentations by Philadelphia-based scientists and other experts followed by lively conversation and a Q&A. The goal is to promote enthusiasm for science in a fun, spirited, and accessible way, while also meeting new people. Come join the conversation!

Featured image: Visualization of the Gulf Stream stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to Western Europe, by Greg Shirah, lead animator, NASA Scientific Visualization Studio