Meteorological modeling sensitivity to parameterizations and satellite-derived surface datasets during the 2017 Lake Michigan Ozone Study

High-resolution simulations were performed to assess the impact of different parameterization schemes, surface datasets, and analysis nudging on lower-tropospheric conditions near Lake Michigan. Simulations were performed where climatological or coarse-resolution surface datasets were replaced by high-resolution, real-time datasets depicting the lake surface temperatures (SSTs), green vegetation fraction (GVF), and soil moisture and temperature (SOIL). Comparison of two baseline simulations employing different parameterization schemes (referred to as AP-XM and YNT, respectively) showed that the AP-XM simulation produced more accurate analyses on the outermost 12 km resolution domain but that the YNT simulation was superior for higher-resolution nests. The diurnal evolution of the surface energy fluxes was similar in both simulations on the 12 km grid but differed greatly on the 1.3 km grid where the AP-XM simulation had a much smaller sensible heat flux during the daytime and a physically unrealistic ground heat flux. Switching to the YNT configuration led to more accurate 2 m temperature and 2 m water vapor mixing ratio analyses on the 1.3 km grid. Additional improvements occurred when satellite-derived surface datasets were incorporated into the modeling platform, with the SOIL dataset having the largest positive impact on temperature and water vapor. The GVF and SST datasets also produced more accurate temperature and water vapor analyses but had degradations in wind speed, especially when using the GVF dataset. The most accurate simulations were obtained when using the high-resolution SST and SOIL datasets and analysis nudging above 2 km a.g.l. (above ground level). These results demonstrate the value of using high-resolution satellite-derived surface datasets in model simulations.</p

Perception of High Alcohol Use of Peers Is Associated With High Personal Alcohol Use in First-Year University Students in Three Central and Eastern European Countries

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess discrepancies between estimated peer and personal drinking behavior and to determine associations between perceptions of peer and personal drinking behavior among university students from Hungary (HU), Lithuania (LT), and the Slovak Republic (SK). Methods: 2,554 freshman university students completed an online questionnaire on the frequency of their personal alcohol use, the number of heavy drinking occasions and on their perception concerning the corresponding drinking behavior of a typical student. Associations between perceived peer and personal use were analyzed by means of logistic regression, adjusting for sex. Results: The majority of students across all countries thought their peers drink more frequently and are more often involved in heavy drinking occasions than themselves. Students who perceived the frequency of peer alcohol use to be higher were more likely to drink alcohol twice a week or more often (SR: OR = 3.81, 95% CI = 2.51–5.79; LT: OR = 3.16, 95% CI = 2.11–4.75; HU: OR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.53–2.87) compared with students who drink alcohol monthly or less. Those who perceived the number of peer heavy drinking occasions as high were more likely to report heavy drinking weekly or more often (SR: OR = 3.16, 95% CI = 1.92–5.20; LT:OR = 3.56, 95% CI = 2.14–5.94; HU:OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 0.79–2.51) compared with students who report heavy drinking less than monthly. Conclusions/Importance: University students perceived peer alcohol use to be higher than their personal use. Given the association between perceptions and personal alcohol use, future research should investigate if targeting perceptions in the surveyed countries may have an impact on alcohol use