The Possession Sound, located within the Puget Sound, is a diverse estuarine environment where freshwater from the Snohomish River mixes with the ocean water from the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A key variable that influences fluctuations in an estuary system is tidal stage changes that result in mixing and stratification that influence water chemistry. The working hypothesis is that increased high salinity, cold water during high tide will result in decreased pH and increased dissolved oxygen (D.O.) Data from 2010 to 2013 were collected monthly at the Mukilteo and Mount Baker Terminal stations. YSI 85 and 650 data for salinity, temperature, pH, and D.O. were organized based on tidal stages. The data did not support our hypothesis; trend lines indicate that as tidal stages increase pH increases from 7.5 to 7.6. On average, D.O. decreased as tidal stages increased, from 9.1mg/L to 8.4 mg/L. Chemical levels in the water column are also influenced by phytoplankton through photosynthesis and respiration. Future research will be conducted to determine the correlation between the amount of plankton in the water and the levels of pH and D.O. in the water column.

High school students doing college-level coursework by participating in specialized programs, such as Running Start, can be put under large amounts of stress. It was hypothesized that as stress increases, health will, in turn, decrease and that there is a significant correlation between perceived stress levels and health. Surveys were designed for voluntary participants to report stress, health, and overall well-being through a series of questions where the participants ranked their levels on a Likert scale. The surveys were implemented 6 times throughout the quarter to help identify trends in perceptions of stress as the quarter progresses with correlations to changes in lifestyle, sense of self, and overall health. However, this data set is limited. Because of the relatively small population size studied within a limited period of time, one restriction was identifying specific stress factors for each individual. Whether or not this kind of stress is harmful to teenagers undergoing rigorous course loads is not yet clear.