SVANTE was an ESA-funded project that aimed to conduct a series of atmospheric measurement campaigns on behalf of the European Space Agency to support and validate data from the Sentinel-5P satellite. The work was intended to include both ongoing field activities and specialized campaigns. A key planned activity was an airborne campaign using ‘transect flights’ over Western Germany, timed to coincide with satellite overpasses, in order to validate data for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), formaldehyde (HCHO), and sulfur dioxide (SO₂). In parallel, the project also aimed to address a critical data gap in tropical Africa by deploying a ground-based Fourier transform spectrometer in Jinja, Uganda, for a one-year period. This instrument was intended to measure column-averaged methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, thereby providing valuable validation for satellite datasets in a region known for its significance in global carbon cycles but lacking sufficient ground-based observations. The entire project was coordinated by the prime contractor (BIRA), who was responsible for management, financial oversight, and project outreach.
The project ran between 2020 and 2022.