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Investigating microbial interactions with glass and mineral surfaces: do microbes serve a protective or destructive role in long-term material durability within the biogeosphere?


EMSL Project ID
60633

Abstract

Microbes are ubiquitous in the terrestrial surface and have mastered the art of establishing equilibrium in their localized environment. Samples obtained during an excavation of Broborg, an ancient Swedish hillfort, provide a unique opportunity to study how microbial communities work together to control local chemistry, and how they adapt to colonize anthropogenically-engineered materials over a period of hundreds of years. The project team and EMSL collaborators will examine microbes (prokaryotes and eukaryotes) present on: (i) pre-Viking era glass produced for joining rocks to build the fort, along with glassy fine material in the surrounding soil and subsoil; (ii) synthetic Broborg glass subjected to bacterial colonization in the laboratory. EMSL imaging and analysis capabilities will allow detailed characterization of the interface between the vitrified material and the altering environment, to determine the local biogeochemical influences on glass structure, chemistry, and mineralogy. Results obtained will provide a greater understanding of the extent to which microbes influence both anthropogenically-engineered and natural materials, by either: (i) protecting them by controlling their environment, or (ii) enhancing corrosion to obtain nutrients. This international project team has a unique opportunity to take advantage of vitrified material and soil samples obtained from the excavation of a culturally and ecologically sensitive site in Sweden by a multi-institutional team. Broborg and its 1,500-year-old vitrified fortifications can be considered as a habitat analogue for the near-surface disposal of low activity radioactive waste glass. Thus, characterization of the alteration layers on the ancient glass will transform the understanding of long-term glass corrosion, and results obtained will be used to inform contaminant release models from radioactive waste repositories. As such, the team will combine geochemical data with bioinformatics to develop a predictive understanding of microbial/geochemical weathering processes. Specific aims would include the following: 1) to identify processes and/or microorganisms that may have accelerated or inhibited long-term weathering of vitrified material as a function of depth in the critical zone; and 2) the extent to which these processes can be replicated in the laboratory.

Project Details

Start Date
2022-11-01
End Date
2023-09-30
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

Andrew Plymale
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Co-Investigator(s)

Jacqueline Wells
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Jose Marcial
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

James Neeway
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Carolyn Pearce
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Team Members

Jessica Allen
Institution
Eastern Washington University

Tanya Cheeke
Institution
Washington State University Tri-Cities