Ocean Climate Connections Lab
Dr. Rebecca (Becki) Beadling
Assistant Professor, Earth and Environmental Science
Temple University
About
Dr. Becki Beadling leads the Ocean Climate Connections (OCC) lab at Temple University, where we focus on advancing our understanding of the role that the ocean plays within the climate system. We aim to improve understanding of how ocean circulation—particularly in the Southern Ocean—is changing as the planet warms, and what those changes mean for global climate, climate impacts such as sea level rise, and Earth’s energy budget.
We use observations and state-of-the-art climate model simulations to answer fundamental questions: What processes drive ocean circulation patterns and how are those dynamics projected to evolve? How do changes in ocean circulation impact future heat and carbon storage? What happens in the remote Southern Ocean and near the Antarctic margin that matters for the rest of the planet? How do changes in ocean circulation manifest in patterns of regional sea level rise?
The OCC lab also specializes in evaluating the performance of climate models in representing ocean processes and properties, developing diagnostics to build a process-level understanding of model performance and climate projections, coupled ocean – climate processes, Southern Ocean physical and biogeochemical dynamics, and ice-ocean processes along the Antarctic margin. The OCC lab runs its own high performance analysis and data storage system for analysis of observations and climate model simulations, putting state of the art computing at our fingertips.
Beadling serves as a Lead Author for the IPCC Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) Chapter 6: Global Projections Across Timescales, contributing to the international effort to synthesize climate science for policymakers. She collaborates closely with NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory on climate model development efforts and as a funded member of NOAA’s Model Diagnostic Task Force. She also serves on the World Climate Research Programme’s Coupled Model Intercomparison Project’s (CMIP) Model Benchmarking Task Team.
Research Interests
Southern Ocean Dynamics & Climate
Understanding circulation patterns, ocean-atmosphere-ice interactions, heat and carbon uptake, and the influence of this critical region in the global climate system
Ocean-Ice Sheet Interactions
Disentangling the complex ocean – ice interactions along the Antarctic margin that influence the mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and contribute to sea level rise
Climate Model Evaluation & Development
Diagnosing biases in climate model simulations and building process-level understanding to improve future model generations. Developing tools and packages to advance and support model evaluation efforts across the community
Coupled Climate Processes
Interactions between the ocean and other components of the Earth system under continued warming
Science Education & Communication
Creating educational materials and tools to make climate science more accessible to students and broader audiences
Current Opportunities
Graduate Students: Our research group is recruiting MS and PhD students for Fall 2027. Prospective students should have strong quantitative skills and interest in climate modeling, oceanography, or related fields. Learn more →
Undergraduates: Our research group is always looking for motivated Temple undergraduate students interested in climate model analysis and oceanography research.
Recent News
December 2025 – PhD Candidate, James Milward successfully completed his PhD Candidacy exam and also was awarded the 2025 College of Science and Technology Outstanding Teaching Assistant (TA) Award! Congrats, James!
September 2025 – The OCC group welcomed postdoctoral research scientist, Dr. Zachary Kaufman – who brings expertise in large-scale climate dynamics, climate variability, ocean-ice sheet interactions, and data-driven approaches to improving climate model projections.
August 2025 – Dr. Becki Beadling was appointed Lead Author for the Seventh Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC-AR7 Beadling will be Lead Author on Chapter 6 of the AR7, “Global Projections Across Timescales”
Fall 2024 – Welcomed new PhD student Kirstin Petzer, who brings expertise in marine heatwaves from University of Cape Town
See here for a complete listing of OCC news!Connect
Email: rebecca.beadling@temple.edu
Office: Beury Hall, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Google Scholar | GitHub | CV |