LUMINESCENCE DATING SERVICES AND GEOCHRONOLOGIES

SOURCES SOUGHT: This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE. The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a MARKET SURVEY to determine the interest and capability of any firm eligible to compete under NAICS code 541380 Testing Laboratory with a Small Business Size Standard $16.5M for an upcoming requirement of Luminescence Dating Services and Geochronologies. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. ALL COST ASSOCIATED WITH PROVIDING INFORMATION AS REQUESTED BY THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE SHALL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CONTRACTOR. Submission is voluntary. The Department of the Interior (DOI) U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Luminescence Geochronology Laboratory, Denver Federal Center, Lakewood, CO 80225 directs a detailed, technically demanding, and time-consuming technique for obtaining ages of sediment grains. Yet it offers almost unparalleled access to information about the length of sediment transportation and time since deposition that is stored in the mineral grains of quartz and feldspar (Mahan and DeWitt, 2019). These minerals are bleached of all luminescence information during transport under sunlight conditions. The exposure to light resets the luminescence - clock to zero. When the minerals are buried, such as after floods, earthquakes, or wind events, the luminescence clock restarts due to exposure to low level amounts of natural radioactivity (the elements of K, U, and Th provide the necessary ionizing radiation to start luminescence accumulation). Skilled laboratory personnel and state of the art machines can detect the luminescence, measure it, and use calibrated processes to determine how long it took to acquire the luminescence signal. There are very few laboratories in the US that can perform this work. The USGS has the only Federal lab that specializes in the technique. As such, the lab is often overbooked, backlogged, and overwhelmed by demand. Important projects must often be shared with other qualified labs in order to achieve mission critical deadlines with Department of Interior partners. The USGS lab prefers to partner with labs with which we have previously calibrated measurements or share a long and rich history of successful collaborations Responses to this announcement are requested from (1) SBA certified Small Business HubZone firms; (2) Small Business firms certified by a Small Business Administration (SBA) district or regional office for participation in the 8(a) program; (3) Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned small Business firms; (4) Small Businesses. In response to this announcement, please indicate your firm's socioeconomic status (e.g. small business, service-disabled veteran-owned, women owned, HUBZone, etc.) This information will assist the Government in determining how small businesses can fit into the acquisition strategy. A firm is considered small under NAICS code 541380 Testing Laboratory if their AVERAGE annual receipts for the preceding three (3) years were less than or equal to $16.5 million. Any information submitted is voluntary. If sufficient interest and capability is not received from firms in categories (1) through (4) above, any solicitation may be issued as unrestricted without further consideration. Interested small business firms shall submit (1) NAME, ADDRESS, and PHONE NUMBER OF THE FIRM (including DUNS NUMBER); (2) a CAPABILITY STATEMENT including (a) RECENT (within the last three fiscal years) RELEVANT (similar projects to this requirement) performance history (identify the name of the owner and their point(s) of contact with telephone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses; and (b) in what capacity (e.g., prime, subcontractor etc.) they performed the work; and (3) their SIZE STATUS. Your company must have a DUNs number and be registered on-line at the System for Award Management (SAM). You will also be required to provide your small business status information either via the RFP or the On-line Representations and Certifications (ORCA) also located at the SAM website before an award to your company can be made. Your on-line ORCA registration will cover any/all of your offers to the Federal Government, and only needs updated annually. All responses must be submitted NLT August 10, 2021 at 12pm EST via e-mail to: contact@example.gov. This is NOT a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Invitation for Bid (IFB) and does not constitute any commitment by the Government. Responses to this sources sought notice will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. All interested sources must respond to future solicitation announcements separately from responses to this market survey. Any solicitation that may be issued will be posted on the SAM.gov electronically.