As international regulations on aquatic organism discharge in ships\' ballast water take effect, port state authorities will need a sampling device for compliance inspectors to potentially use for sample collection. Importantly, the device must be easily operable, quickly connectable to the main ballast water pipe, and reliable in collecting a representative sample of the ballast water flowing through the pipe. Existing sampling devices currently fall short in these aspects. Therefore, we\'ve developed, manufactured, and validated a new sampling skid. This design enables the regulation of flow velocity and flow rate, facilitating the simultaneous, convenient collection of organisms ≥50 μm and other biological samples. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of sampling outcomes between traditional net sampling devices, using land-based experiments to assess the accuracy and precision of the innovative sampling skid. The findings show that, despite significant differences in <10 μm organism concentrations, the sampling skid, as an alternative to traditional net and other skid devices, has demonstrated substantial potential and feasibility.

Accurate assessment of ballast water\'s community composition and organism concentrations is crucial for effective management. Yet, the lack of standardized global sampling methods presents challenges to achieving this objective. Inconsistencies hinder data comparison across regions and vessels, impeding efficient ballast water treatment and discharge regulation. This study conducted land-based tests to establish suitable methodologies. For organisms ≥50 μm and ≥10 μm to <50 μm, the recommended max flow rate is 50 L/min; for <10 μm organisms, 25 L/min is advised to prevent cell damage. Sampling should cover substantial discharge durations. To ensure representation, ≥50 μm organisms require ≥1m3, while ≥10 μm to <50 μm and <10 μm organisms need 20 L. The ultimate aim is standardized methods for assessing ballast water across regions and vessel types, facilitating effective management to curb invasive species and protect aquatic ecosystems.

Good-quality emission data are essential to validate national climate commitments and implement domestic policies. However, conventional bottom-up data collection is costly and subject to potential manipulation by stakeholders when data pass through their hands, which could pose challenges on the efficiency and effectiveness of compliance monitoring especially in developing countries. Satellite observations, specifically OCO-2 XCO2 measurements, are utilized in this study to develop a relatively independent and timely dataset for screening the attainment statuses of national and subnational CO2 mitigation goals in China\'s 13th Five-Year Plan (FYP, 2016-2020). We establish CO2 emission estimation models at both pixel and provincial levels. As interpolated with the pixel-level model, CO2 emissions of prefecture-level municipalities indicate that approximately three fifth of them had accomplished their individualized FYP mitigation goals by 2019, while our provincial-level estimation suggests that three quarters of provinces had attained theirs. More resources for compliance monitoring could thus be directed to other presumably-unattaining local governments. National aggregate absolute emissions showed 8.0-18.3% reduction in 2019 across three provincial models from the 2015 level, while national CO2 intensity dropped by 28.8-36.8% to imply attaining the 18% reduction goals.