Clear as Mud: How Tiny Plants Changed the Planet, 488 Million Years Ago January 31, 2021Caltech Nearly 500 million years ago, Earth’s lowland landscapes were dominated by vast sandy, gritty plains. They then underwent a major, irreversible change, after which these landscapes became dominated by thick layers of mud. Now, new research from Caltech explains that this drastic landscape change was instigated by the evolution of early tiny plants, like mosses and liverworts. The study was conducted as part of a collaboration between the laboratories of Woodward Fischer—professor of geobiology and associate director of the Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies—and Michael Lamb, professor of geology. The work is described in a paper published in