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Volume XIV |
Environment

Analysis of nitrogen dioxide levels in the atmosphere of cities in the Moldova Region, Romania

1,, 2, 3, 4

Abstract: The novelty of this study consists in the spatio-temporal analysis of the annual, seasonal, daily and hourly concentration values of the chemical pollutant NO2 , in the 8 counties of the Moldova – Romania Region (24 stations), over a period of 14 years (2009 – 2022), in close connection with its emission sources and with the geographical factors that can amplify or diminish it. The study is representative through the temporal consistency of the data series, through their number, and by the fact that it integrates three different sub-intervals that influenced the levels of NO2: two without restrictions, in which human activity was carried out normally (2009 – 2020 and 2021 – 2022) and one pandemic (centered on 2020) in which the population’s activity was restricted. The average annual concentrations of the pollutant NO2 exceeded the limit values only at the IS-1 station (41.5 μg/m3), due to the intense road traffic on the Red Bridge, the railway traffic and the high degree of urbanization of the indicated perimeter. The effective monthly, daily and hourly average values of NO2 emissions fell within the specific quality indices of excellent, very good and good throughout the studied interval. The maximum values of the concentration of this gas (127 μg/m3 – IS-1 / 17.02.2017) were recorded in winter, due to the intensification of road traffic and the production of thermal energy for heating houses. The specific meteorological conditions (thermal inversions, fog, calm atmosphere) and the local configuration of the relief (the Bahlui valley with a depressional corridor appearance), favored the accumulation and stagnation of the pollutant, without it exceeding the limit values according to Law no. 104/15 June 2011 and without endangering the health of the population. The study provides both an overview and a detailed picture of the atmospheric distribution of NO2 in the eight counties of Moldova and can represent a reporting support for other studies to be carried out in the field of air chemistry at the base of the atmosphere.

Keywords: , , ,
Full article 10.5775/fg.2025.3742.dDates:
Received: 06-11-2025 Accepted: 15-12-2025 Printed: 30-12-2025 Online: 30-12-2025
Affiliations:
  • 1 Doctoral School of Applied Sciences and Engineering, Doctoral Field of Geography, 13 Universității Street, 720 229 Suceava, Romania & Applied Geography Research Center (GeA), 13 Universității Street, 720 229 Suceava, Romania and Gymnasium School "Ion Creangă " Suceava, 1 December 1918 Boulevard, 720262 Suceava, Romania
  • 2 Applied Geography Research Center (GeA), 13 Universității Street, 720 229 Suceava, Romania and Gymnasium School No 4 Suceava, 10 Zorilor Street, 720237 Suceava, Romania
  • 3 Doctoral School of Applied Sciences and Engineering, Doctoral Field of Geography, 13 Universității Street, 720 229 Suceava, Romania and Applied Geography Research Center (GeA), 13 Universității Street, 720 229 Suceava, Romania and Faculty of History, Geography and Social Sciences, Department of Geography, „Stefan cel Mare“ University of Suceava, 13 Universității Street, 720 229 Suceava, Romania
  • 4 Applied Geography Research Center (GeA), 13 Universității Street, 720 229 Suceava, Romania and Faculty of History, Geography and Social Sciences, Department of Geography, „Stefan cel Mare“ University of Suceava, 13 Universității Street, 720 229 Suceava, Romania
Corresponding author:
  • nistorbobo@yahoo.com
Author contributions: All authors contributed to the conceptualization, methodology, design, and writing of this paper. Data collection was performed by NA and NB, analysis was performed by NA, NB, and MD, and graphical representations were prepared by NA, NB, MD, and BPI. The first draft of the manuscript was drafted by MD and written by NA and NB, and all authors discussed and provided input. All authors reviewed the manuscript and ultimately agreed on the version submitted for review and publication.Declaration of interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Citation:
APA 6 | Harvard 2008 | Turabian 6 | MLA 7
RIS | BibTeX
Funding: This work was supported by a NetZeroCities grant - https://netzerocities.eu/the-netzerocities-project/. NetZeroCities is part of the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, in support of the European Green Deal. At the same time, two of the authors (Nistor Alina and Mihăilă Dumitru) participated in activities within the mobility project no. PN-IV-P2-2.2-MC-2024-0927 (Program 5.2 - Human Resources, Subprogram 5.2.2 - Mobilities Mobility projects for researchers, Competition 2024), by participating in the Czech University of Life Science, Prague, Czech Republic, entitled "Assessment of air quality in the Moldova - Romania Region, based on the principles and monitoring technologies used by the Hydrometeorological Institute in Prague, Czech Republic" (November 16 - December 1, 2024)Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to the environmental specialists from the County Environmental Protection Agencies in the Moldova – Romania (Suceava, Botoșani, Iași, Neamț, Bacău, Vaslui, Galați, Vrancea) for providing hourly data for the pollutant NO2 from the 24 APM stations used in this analysis. We express our sincere gratitude to the editor and reviewers for their support in reviewing and publishing this article.
Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Forum geografic.
Provided under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License.
Open Access article.

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