Betina Frinault
Hi, I’m Bétina. I joined the University of Oxford in 2016 and I am currently studying towards a DPhil in the Seascape Ecology Lab.
I am funded by the UKRI Oxford NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). My research currently looks at benthic community patterns of Antarctic seas, and Southwest Indian Ridge seamounts; and I create methodologies to translate big-data into intelligible information to inform conservation measures in view of climate change impacts, and further anthropogenic stressors.
Prior to joining the Oxford DTP, I worked on the Pew-Bertarelli “Antarctic Futures Project” with Prof Alex Rogers and a consortium of international researchers. This project focused on current and future implications of climate-driven change on Southern Ocean biological diversity and delivery of direct and indirect ecosystem services.
In 2017, I graduated with an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management from the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, specialising in marine protection frameworks and governance, focussing on internationally-contested waters, areas beyond national jurisdiction and deep-sea mining, as well as novel methodologies to expedite systematic marine community appraisals. I hold a BSc in Marine Biology from the School of Ocean Sciences, University of Wales, where I worked on many marine projects from cetacean surveying, benthic trawls, food-webs, avifauna, extreme marine environments and fisheries policy. I have enjoyed fieldwork in the Irish Sea, the Atlantic and Southern Oceans and am very much at home at sea.
Outside of work you can find me on the French or Italian coast, hiking up a mountain, or more recently in the Oxfordshire countryside following Formula 1 and playing tennis. I am a member of The Queen’s College, Oxford and a visiting tutor at Worcester College (Coastal and Marine Systems). I am also a member of the NYC-based Explorer’s Club.
Selected publications
Batchelor, C.L., Frinault, B.A.V., Christie, F.D.W., Montelli, A., Dowdeswell, J.A. 2022. The morphology of pockmarks on the north-east Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf. Antarctic Science, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102022000177
Barnes, D.K.A., Kuhn, G., Hillenbrand, C.D., Gromig, R., Koglin, N., Biskaborn, B.K., Frinault, B.A.V., Klages, J.P., Gutt, J. 2021. Richness, growth, and persistence of life under an Antarctic ice shelf. Current Biology, 31, R1566-R1567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.11.015
Frinault, B.A.V., Rogers, A.D., Roterman, C.N., Taylor, M.L., van der Grient, J.M.A., Community Analysis of a Chain of Southwest Indian Ridge Seamounts. Prepared.
Rogers, A.D., Frinault, B.A.V., Barnes D.K.A., Bindoff, N.L., Downie, R., Ducklow, H.W., Friedlander, A.S., Hart, T., Hill, S.L., Hofmann, E.E., Linse, K., McMahon, C.R., Murphy, E.J., Pakhomov, E.A., Reygondeau, G., Staniland, I.J., Wolf-Gladrow, D.A., Wright, R.M., 2020. Antarctic Futures: An Assessment of Climate-Driven Changes on Ecosystem Structure, Function and Service Provision in the Southern Ocean. Annual Review of Marine Science. 12(1) 87–120. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-010419-011028
Frinault, B.A.V., 2019. Briefing Note: What Implications does Net Zero have on Equity, Ethics and Intergenerational Justice? In Environmental Change Institute and Oxford Martin School, Achieving Net Zero. University of Oxford, Oxford, 9-11th September. Prepared in view of UNFCCC-COP.
Rogers, A.D. and Frinault, B.A.V. (Editors). 2017. Workshop Report on Climate Change Impacts on Antarctic Marine Ecosystems: Implications for Management of Living Resources and Conservation. Oxford: Somerville College, University of Oxford. Report for the Pew Bertarelli Global Ocean Legacy Project; 47pp.
Laffoley, D., Hulme, S., Francis, B., Frinault, B., Baxter, J., von Lindenfels, M. (Editors). 2017. Workshop Report on Exploring Ocean Risk: Hazards, vulnerabilities, global priorities and regional resilience. IUCN and IPSO, 35pp.
Selected presentations
Wedding, L., Frinault, B., Williams, G., Maynard, J., Micheli, F. 2019. ‘Leveraging the Geospatial Data Revolution to Inform Management of Marine Ecosystems.’ Presented by Wedding, L. and Frinault, B. at the British Ecological Society Annual Meeting 2019 (Session - Harnessing the Data Revolution: Ecology in a Digital Age; Davis, C.C., Park, D., Lyra, G.), 10-13th December 2019. Belfast International Convention Centre (ICC), Belfast, 12th December.
Ewart, H., Montelli, A., Frinault, B., 2019. ‘Weddell Sea Expedition 2019 - Marine Biology and Glaciology in the Weddell Sea.’ Reach the World, from the SA Agulhas II, Antarctica 25th January.
Frinault, B.A.V., 2019. ‘Hobart: A Journey from Seamounts to Software - Expediting Exploration?’ Weddell Sea Expedition 2019, SA Agulhas II, Antarctica 19th February.
Rogers, A.D., Frinault, B.A.V., Barnes, D.K.A., Bindoff, N.L., Downie, R., Ducklow, H.W., Friedlander, A.S., Hart, T., Hill, S.L., Hofmann, E.E., Linse, K., Murphy, E.J., Pakhomov, E.A., Reygondeau, G., Wolf-Gladrow, D.A., Wright, R.M., 2018. Climate Change Impacts on Antarctic Marine Ecosystems and Implications for Management. Presented by Rogers, A.D. at the Marine Ecosystem Assessment of the Southern Ocean (MEASO) Conference: Assessing status and trends of habitats, key species and ecosystems in the Southern Ocean. C3 Convention Centre, Hobart, 12th April.
Selected Informal Postings
Frinault, B., 2020. “Plastic”: A million and more products under one name – but let’s talk microfibres! Evidently Scientific. https://evidentlyscientifical.wordpress.com/
Frinault, B., 2020. The “International Seabed Authority”, ISA: Why we should all know what it is. Evidently Scientific. https://evidentlyscientifical.wordpress.com/
Frinault, B., 2019. Marine biology: Discovering life in the Icy Deep – Secrets of the Weddell Sea. The Weddell Sea Expedition 2019. https://weddellseaexpedition.org/marine-biology/