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Updated: Apr 4, 2026
Quantification of the Potential Impact of Glyphosate-Based Products on Microbiomes
Published on: January 10, 2022
Glyphosate and AMPA in the estuaries of the Baltic Sea method optimization and field study
Wael Skeff1, Christine Neumann1, Detlef E Schulz-Bull1
1Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemuende, Department of Marine Chemistry, Seestrasse 15, 18119 Rostock, Germany.
Abstract:
Water samples from ten German Baltic estuaries were collected in 2012 in order to study the presence of the herbicide glyphosate, its primary metabolite AMPA and their potential transport to the marine environment. For the analyses an LC-MS/MS based analytical method after derivatization with FMOC-Cl was optimized and validated for marine water samples. All investigated estuarine stations were contaminated with AMPA and nine of them also with glyphosate. Concentration ranges observed were 28 to 1690ng/L and 45 to 4156ng/L for glyphosate and AMPA, respectively with strong spatial and temporal fluctuations. Both contaminants were found at inbound sampling sites in the stream Muehlenfliess and concentrations decreased along the salinity gradient to the estuaries of the Baltic Sea. The data obtained in this study clearly depict the transport of glyphosate and AMPA to the Baltic Sea. Hence, detailed fate and risk assessment for both contaminants in marine environments are required.
