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 (NOâ‚‚), formaldehyde (HCHO), and sulfur dioxide (SOâ‚‚). 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.