Analysis of the Herbicide Glyphosate in the Marine Environment

Glyphosate is one of the most frequently applied herbicides worldwide. As a result, it can now be detected in surface waters around the globe. It is also known that glyphosate is transported into oceans, e.g. the Baltic Sea, via riverine runoff (Skeff et al. 2015: Marine Pollution Bulletin 100 (1,) 577 ff.).

However, the determination of the concentration of glyphosate in seawater is currently impossible, because the salt matrix disturbs the required enrichment via solid phase extraction (SPE). Seawater samples can be desalted with an electrodialysis system that has been implemented at IOW. The aim of this project is to enable the analysis of glyphosate and its main metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in seawater by using electrodialysis and SPE.

This project is funded by the Leibniz Association within the framework of the Leibniz ScienceCampus Phosphorus Research Rostock.