ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT 

CONTRIBUTE TO GLASS ALTERATION

Anna Job Poolesville High School, Poolesville MD, USA Dr. Jamie Weaver, Mentor
INTRODUCTION

Various nuclear wastes

Vitrification

Slow alteration

There are still open questions 

about how to best model glass 

alteration in a natural setting over 

long periods of exposure time

Glass produced from a high level 

radioactive waste simulant

http://www.geologyin.com/2016/11/canradioactive-waste-be-immobilized-in.html

Site where low activity nuclear waste will be stored. 

Richland, Washington State. Courtesy of DOE.
WHY IS ENVIRONMENTAL DATA NEEDED?

How well does 

the model 

predict natural 

alteration?

Model 

developed from 

lab tests

 It is known that the following 

parameters affect glass 

alteration

Temperature

Humidity

Pressure

Biological Interaction

When trying to predict the 

alteration of a glass in a natural 

environment one needs to 

know these parameters

Project Goal: to compile these natural parameters as they 

relate to glass alteration
METHODOLOGY
METHODOLOGY

Literature review

Climatic and 

environmental factors:

 Temperature

 Background Biology

1,500 year old Swedish 

hillfort glass found

Swedish Hillfort

Weaver et al., Microscopic Identification of Microorganisms on Pre-Viking Swedish Hillfort Glass

Weaver et al., Correlating Aging and Durability of Pre-Viking Hillfort Glasses from the 

Broborg Hillfort Site, Sweden, to Predicted Long Term Performance of Vitrified Waste 

Microscopic view of glass

Swedish Glass

Weaver et al., Microscopic 

Identification of Microorganisms on Pre-Viking 

Swedish Hillfort Glass

Areal view of Broborg and 

surrounding region (from Google 

Maps)
TEMPERATURE

Anthropogenic temperature data

Short-term data sets (couple hundred 

years)

Data has been taken in variety of 

ways

Data taken by older instruments subject 

to method error

Corrections needed for accurate data bulb was heated over a 

flame so that some of 

the bubbles of dilated air 

escaped from the 

capillary

Camuffo, Calibration and 

Instrumental Errors in Early 

Measurements of Air 

Temperature
DAILY AIR TEMPERATURE AND 

PRESSURE SERIES FOR UPPSALA 

(1722-1998)

 Diurnal temperaturedaily measurements

 1722-1732

 Data corrected due to 

inconsistencies in how 

the readings were taken

 Use corrected data 

from Uppsala in 

experiments 

Diurnal temperature cycles with reference to the monthly averages in Uppsala 1961-1990 (full 

line), and compared to the mean temperature readings 1722-1732 in the morning, in the 

afternoon, and in the evening . 

HANS BERGSTRÖM and ANDERS MOBERG, DAILY AIR TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE SERIES FOR UPPSALA 

(1722–1998)
Temperature from proxy 

sources

A proxy is a preserved 

environmental characteristic that 

can be used to track climate 

variability 

Background biology

TEMPERATURE

Rosén, P., Segerström, U., Eriksson, L., Renberg, I., & Birks, H. J. B. (2001). 

Holocene climatic change reconstructed from diatoms, chironomids, pollen 

and near-infrared spectroscopy at an alpine lake (Sjuodjijaure) in northern 

Sweden. The Holocene, 11(5), 551-562.
BACKGROUND BIOLOGY

Hellman, S., Gaillard, M. J., Broström, A., & Sugita, S. (2008). 

 Pollen % used to infer past 

vegetation

 Can be found in lake 

sediments layers, sample 

cores give past information

 Biological

 “Pollen analysis is a 

commonly accepted 

method for reconstructing 

past changes in vegetation 

and thus indirectly past 

climate change” -Rosén, P., Segerström, U., Eriksson, L., 

Renberg, I., & Birks, H. J. B. (2001). 
Testate Amoebae found on glass

 Trinema enchelys

 Self secretes silica shell- cores can indicate 

climate change

 Si reliant- how does this affect glass?

Weaver et al. ,Microscopic Identification of Micro-Organisms 

on Pre-Viking Swedish Hillfort Glass

Trinema enchelys

Bobrov, Anatoly, et al., "Testate amoebae 

communities from some freshwater and soil habitats 

in China (Hubei and Shandong Provinces)." Frontiers 

of Earth Science 6.1 (2012): 1-9.

Background Biology
SUMMARY

Specific 

contributions

Uncovered yearly 

average temperatures 

that will be used to 

design more accurate 

lab experiments

Methodology from 

prior papers can be 

used for Uppsala data

Findings will be 

included in a 

Smithsonian volume

Weaver et al. ,Microscopic Identification of Micro-Organisms on Pre-Viking Swedish Hillfort Glass
FUTURE WORK

 Further research into pollen 

data around Uppsala

 Research surrounding 

diatoms and fungus

 Tree rings, humidity, air 

pressure, pH

NASA. (2018). NASA Climate Kids :: What can trees tell 

us about climate change?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you!

Any questions?