Influence of Meteorological Factors NO2, SO2, CO and PM10 on the Concentration of O3 in the Urban Atmosphere of Eastern Croatia

Abstract

Ozone, NO2, SO2, CO, PM10 and meteorological parameters were measured simultaneously during the summer–autumn season 2007 in Osijek—the eastern, flat, agricultural part of Croatia. Fourier analysis confirms the existence of variation in ozone volume fractions with periods ranging from the usual semi-daily and daily to 7 and 28 daily cycles. The relationships between O3 and other variables were modelled in three ways: principal component analysis, multiple linear regression and principal component regression. The results of the principal component analysis detected underlying relationships among ozone concentrations and meteorological variables. An extremely simple meteorological model is suitable for the prediction of ozone levels. The meteorological factors, temperature and cloudiness played a main role in the MLR model (R 2 = 0.83). The application of the principal component regression approach confirmed that the original variables associated with the valid principal components were meteorological variables (R 2 = 0.82).