About

Ethan Hyland is an Associate Professor at NC State University's Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences. The page does not provide specific details about his research focus, background, or key contributions.

Research topics

• Geology
• Paleontology
• Climatology
• Biology
• Geography
• Astrobiology
• Oceanography
• Physical geography
• Mineralogy
• Ecology
• Environmental science
• Atmospheric sciences
• Metallurgy
• Archaeology
• Earth science
• Geochemistry

Selected publications

• Multi‐Proxy Thermal History of Basin Heating During Cordilleran Orogenesis in the Magallanes‐Austral Retroarc Foreland Basin, Patagonian Andes

  Basin Research · 2026-05-01

  article

  ABSTRACT Resolving thermal histories in sedimentary basins is crucial for interpreting orogenic growth, basin burial, and tectonic processes during Cordilleran orogenesis. In the Magallanes–Austral Basin, Patagonian Andes, we integrate new (U‐Th)/He thermochronology, vitrinite reflectance (%R o ), calcite‐cement clumped isotope data and thermal history modelling to resolve the origin of the regionally extensive Paleogene unconformity (51°S–50°S). Thermal history modelling results require post‐depositional heating of Palaeocene (Danian–Selandian) strata below the unconformity and suggest maximum burial temperatures of 87°C–101°C (55–52 Ma) and 89°C–92°C (18–16 Ma). For lower Eocene strata above the unconformity, Miocene burial temperatures (89°C–92°C) are consistent with calcite cement formation temperatures (~62°C–92°C) from carbonate clumped isotopes. Our results indicate that basin burial and heating between ca. 60 and 52 Ma were likely driven by shallowing of the subducting Farallon plate and enhanced plate coupling preceding arrival of the Farallon–Phoenix mid‐ocean ridge. Subsequent basin inversion and cooling from ca. 52 to 44 Ma correspond with subduction of this mid‐ocean ridge. Refined thermal models, constrained by expanded thermochronometric and organic maturation datasets, indicate that up to ~1.7–2.0 km of proximal foreland basin strata were removed during uplift and erosion across the Paleogene basin margin. A return to basin subsidence beginning ca. 44 Ma may reflect dynamic subsidence after passage of the mid‐ocean ridge and renewed coupling between the fold‐thrust belt and foreland basin system. Neogene thermal histories document continued subsidence, localized hot orogenic fluid flow along stratigraphic boundaries, followed by a final phase of basin inversion and cooling at ca. 18–16 Ma, which we attribute to regional uplift associated with Chile ridge subduction. Altogether, this study demonstrates that multiple thermal indices when analysed and modelled can provide clarity for tectonic and stratigraphic events that affect foreland basins.

  PublisherDOI

• Paleo- ecosystem, climate and fire dynamics during the Late Miocene-Pliocene in Northwest Argentina

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Improving paleoclimate predictions from paleosol geochemistry

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Seasonal Sea Surface Temperatures from Mercenaria spp. During the Plio-Pleistocene: Oxygen Isotope Versus Clumped Isotope Paleothermometers

  Geosciences · 2025-08-02

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The Mid-Piacenzian Warm Interval (MPWI) is marked by warmer temperatures and higher atmospheric CO2 levels than today, making it an analogue for late-21st-century-warming, whereas the early Pleistocene cooling is more like today. We compare seasonal growth temperatures derived from oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) and clumped isotopes (∆47) in Mercenaria. Modern shells were previously collected from coastal NC. The fossil shells are from the Duplin (MPWI) and Waccamaw Formations (early Pleistocene), NC. Oxygen isotope ratios range from −2.2‰ to 2.3‰ (modern), −0.9‰ to 2.4‰ (MPWI), and −0.9‰ to 2.9‰ (early Pleistocene). The values of Δ47 range from 0.576‰ to 0.639‰ (modern), 0.566‰ to 0.621‰ (MPWI), and 0.581‰ to 0.615‰ (early Pleistocene). We show that Mercenaria do not require a species-specific ∆47 calibration. Modern and MPWI ∆47-derived summer/winter temperatures (SST∆47) and seasonal amplitudes are indistinguishable from δ18O-derived temperatures. The early Pleistocene summer SST∆47 is indistinguishable from δ18O-derived temperatures, but the winter SST∆47 is warmer by 5 °C and may reflect within-shell time averaging. The modern summer/winter SST∆47 are indistinguishable from the MPWI, but the MPWI has a lower seasonal amplitude by 5 °C. Compared to our calculated δ18Osw values, modeled values for the MPWI are within error but are much lower, and they are not within error for the early Pleistocene.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Seasonal Sea Surface Temperatures from Mercenaria spp. During the Plio-Pleistocene: Oxygen Isotope Versus Clumped Isotope Paleothermometers

  UNC Libraries · 2025-09-04

  articleOpen access

  The Mid-Piacenzian Warm Interval (MPWI) is marked by warmer temperatures and higher atmospheric CO2 levels than today, making it an analogue for late-21st-century-warming, whereas the early Pleistocene cooling is more like today. We compare seasonal growth temperatures derived from oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) and clumped isotopes (∆47) in Mercenaria. Modern shells were previously collected from coastal NC. The fossil shells are from the Duplin (MPWI) and Waccamaw Formations (early Pleistocene), NC. Oxygen isotope ratios range from −2.2‰ to 2.3‰ (modern), −0.9‰ to 2.4‰ (MPWI), and −0.9‰ to 2.9‰ (early Pleistocene). The values of Δ47 range from 0.576‰ to 0.639‰ (modern), 0.566‰ to 0.621‰ (MPWI), and 0.581‰ to 0.615‰ (early Pleistocene). We show that Mercenaria do not require a species-specific ∆47 calibration. Modern and MPWI ∆47-derived summer/winter temperatures (SST∆47) and seasonal amplitudes are indistinguishable from δ18O-derived temperatures. The early Pleistocene summer SST∆47 is indistinguishable from δ18O-derived temperatures, but the winter SST∆47 is warmer by 5 °C and may reflect within-shell time averaging. The modern summer/winter SST∆47 are indistinguishable from the MPWI, but the MPWI has a lower seasonal amplitude by 5 °C. Compared to our calculated δ18Osw values, modeled values for the MPWI are within error but are much lower, and they are not within error for the early Pleistocene.

  PublisherDOI

• Modern (Table SI1) and paleo (Table SI2) compilation datasets for the SGPM model

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2025-12-23

  datasetOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Late Miocene expansion of grasslands in northwest Argentina linked to shifting hydroclimate: A complex interaction among tectonics, climate, and ecology

  Geological Society of America Bulletin · 2025-03-07 · 1 citations

  article

  Abstract Factors driving the late Miocene expansion of C4 grasses remain widely debated. Here, we explored the role of climate and fire in controlling the abundance of C4 vegetation in the Angastaco Basin (Palo Pintado area) and La Viña Basin, NW Argentina, during the late Miocene (ca. 14–5.33 Ma). From paleosol horizons, we reconstructed paleoclimate and paleovegetation conditions using phytolith assemblages, geochemical and isotopic proxies, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to determine fire input. Our paleoclimate reconstructions suggest a stable mean annual temperature (MAT) of ~10 °C and a gradual decline in mean annual precipitation (MAP) from 1100 mm yr−1 to 850 mm yr−1. Paleovegetation reconstructions from carbon isotopic composition and phytolith assemblages show a maximum of ~15% C4 vegetation by 6 Ma. No significant increases in fire occurrence or establishment of fire feedbacks were identified from the PAH data. Though low in abundance (~3% on average), our data identified the presence of C4 grass by the late Miocene. The lack of significant C4 expansion in this region was likely controlled by the changing hydroclimatic conditions associated with the Andes mountain range—increasing aridity and elevation constraints along with the lack of a fire feedback might have limited the distribution of C4 vegetation.

  PublisherDOI

• Global paleoclimate across the Phanerozoic: developing a new open-access database of geochemical, lithologic and paleontologic proxy records

  2025-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• VARIABILITY IN TEMPERATURE SEASONALITY IN “EQUABLE” GREENHOUSE CLIMATES: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND EVIDENCE FROM CRETACEOUS WESTERN NORTH AMERICA

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2025-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Modern (Table SI1) and paleo (Table SI2) compilation datasets for the SGPM model

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2025-12-23

  datasetOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Anatomy of a Greenhouse World: The Early Eocene of the Green River Basin, Wyoming

  NSF · $264k · 2018–2024

Frequent coauthors

• Nathan D. Sheldon

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  33 shared

• Jennifer M. Cotton

  32 shared

• Katharine W. Huntington

  27 shared

• Landon Burgener

  18 shared

• M. Sol Raigemborn

  16 shared

• Tammo Reichgelt

  University of Connecticut

  13 shared

• Nadja Insel

  13 shared

• Caroline A.E. Strömberg

  12 shared

Education

• PhD, Earth and Environmental Sciences

  University of Michigan

  2014

Awards & honors

• Goodnight Early Career Innovator (2022 - 2025)