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UNIVERSITY OF BUCHAREST
FACULTY OF PHYSICS Guest
2026-06-11 23:58 |
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Conference: Bucharest University Faculty of Physics 2026 Meeting
Section: Atmosphere and Earth Science; Environment Protection
Title:
Multi-pollutant urban air quality characterization across three structurally distinct Southeastern Romanian cities (Giurgiu, Ploiesti, Constanta): source profiles, seasonal dynamics, and meteorological influence
Authors:
Bianca MIHALACHE (1), Gabriela IORGA (2,1)
*
Affiliation:
1) University of Bucharest, Faculty of Physics, Atomistilor 405, 077125 Bucharest-Magurele, Romania ;
2) University of Bucharest, Faculty of Chemistry, Regina Elisabeta 4-12, 030018 Bucharest, Romania
E-mail
mhl.bianca10@gmail.com; gabriela.iorga@g.unibuc.ro
Keywords:
urban air quality, pollution emission profile, southeastern Romania
Abstract:
Urban air pollution in Southeastern Romania reflects a complex interplay of industrial legacy, maritime port activity, and cross-border pollutant transport, yet most existing studies address individual cities or national-scale patterns, leaving intra-regional comparative analyses largely absent. This study presents a multi-pollutant characterization of air quality across three cities with structurally distinct emission profiles: Ploiesti, a petrochemical and refinery hub; Constanta, a major Black Sea port and tourism center; and Giurgiu, a small Danube border city with legacy industrial infrastructure and documented transboundary pollution exchange with Ruse, Bulgaria. Ground-level concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, NO2, CO, SO2, and O3 were retrieved from the Romanian National Air Quality Monitoring Network for the period 2018–2024, complemented by NO2, O3, and CO column retrievals from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P TROPOMI instrument to address spatial gaps in station coverage. Seasonal decomposition, Spearman correlation analysis, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were applied consistently across all three sites to identify dominant pollution sources and their meteorological dependencies. Findings indicate that Ploiești exhibits high annual PM10 and SO2 concentrations, strongly coupled to petrochemical emissions and cold-season thermal inversions, while Constanța shows elevated NO2 and particulate matter loads during high port-activity periods, modulated by coastal wind regimes. Giurgiu presents a distinct seasonal pattern driven by residential solid fuel combustion in winter and agricultural burning episodes in summer, with transboundary exchange identifiable in southward wind trajectories. These contrasting profiles, occurring within the same macro-regional climate zone and EU policy framework, demonstrate that emission source type — rather than geography or regulatory context alone — is the primary determinant of urban air quality outcomes. The results also provide a baseline characterization for Giurgiu, a city with no prior systematic air quality study in the modern literature, and highlight the need for differentiated urban air quality management strategies within Romanian regional development planning.
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