Meteorological/Oceanographic Data - Antarctic Peninsula

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) has a requirement for the following: 1) Oceanographic Technician - The Oceanographic Technician must have at least 10 years experience and a college degree in oceanography or trade school training in oceanographic technical support. The Oceanographic Technician must demonstrate they have the expertise for collecting, processing, interpreting, archiving, and documenting the oceanographic and meteorological data; and demonstrate that they can perform the work utilizing the current NOAA at-sea data collection software (Scientific Computing System). 2) Electronic Technician - The Electronic Technician must have at least 5 years experience in electrical or electronic engineering. A professional certification (e.g., a Professional Engineering (PE) certificate or the US equivalent) is desirable but not required. The Electronic Technician must demonstrate the ability to provide general shipboard electronic technician (ET) support and specialized skills and services in the shipboard maintenance, operation, and repair of instruments for measuring seawater properties, meteorological conditions, and multi-frequency acoustic backscatter. Personnel must demonstrate their expertise in calibrating, monitoring, and maintaining the performance of a multi-frequency scientific echosounder system (SIMRAD EK500, EK60, and others). Personnel must demonstrate that this experience is on a similar scale to that prescribed herein, in terms of the physical environment of the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, the northern Antarctic Peninsula, and other regions of the southern Scotia Sea. Background The Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention Act of 1984 (Title III of Pubic Law 98-623, 16 U.S.C. 2431 et seq.) provides the legislative authority necessary to implement, with respect to the United States, the Antarctic Living Marine Resources (AMLR) program. The AMLR program, which is managed by the Antarctic Ecosystem Research Division (AERD) at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), provides information to the U.S. delegation to the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), part of the Antarctic treaty system. CCAMLR is an international treaty that seeks to manage Antarctic fisheries with the goal of preserving species diversity and stability of the entire Antarctic marine ecosystem. In keeping with this objective, CCAMLR has designated areas of research that member nations are obligated to pursue. The AMLR Program has identified specific datasets that must be collected to respond to CCAMLR's research directives. In doing so, the AMLR Program supports the U.S. Government's commitment to CCAMLR. Each austral season, the AMLR Program conducts two research cruise legs in the study area. Within the study area, the Program has defined a large-area survey grid of approximately 108 stations around Elephant, Clarence, King George, and Livingston Islands, which will be occupied once on each cruise leg. In addition, station transects across hydrographic features, directed net sampling, fine-scale acoustic surveys, and other specialized studies are conducted. In some years, a single "krill" leg and a "fish" leg is conducted. In all other years, two "krill" legs are conducted. A critical component of the shipboard operations is the collection and archiving of data used to describe the physical environment. These data include 1) continuous observations of sea surface and meteorological conditions, and 2) vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, light transmission, and other parameters. Purpose The overall purpose of this contract is to provide meteorological and oceanographic data, which will be used to describe frontal zones, water mass structure and surface currents near Antarctic Peninsula. This information will in turn be used to study the physical causes of variations in biological production in the area. These studies ultimately lead to the formulation of management advice and options in support of U.S. obligations to CCAMLR. Specific objectives are: 1) Set up and maintain the instruments, connections and data logging equipment; 2) Collect and archive underway and station data; 3) Provide QA/QC of all physical data; 4) Prepare a report summarizing activities and data collected; and 5) Provide general electronic technician support to other shipboard research components. The data will be collected during the course of approximately a 62-day cruise, beginning and ending in Punta Arenas, Chile (cruise times and dates are decided each cruise year and are not definite or the same from one cruise year to the next). In addition, there will be a 3-day import prior to the beginning of the cruise and a 2-day mid-cruise port call. 24-hour per day operations will be conducted during portions of the cruise and it is expected that at least two sea-going people will be required to accomplish the tasks listed below. In addition, the contractor shall be responsible for providing transportation to and from Punta Arenas. Tasks The Contractor shall set up, test and maintain two complete data collection systems. The first consists of an underway data logging system using a Windows-based program called "Shipboard Computer System", a serial port multiplexer and various sensors. The sensors include a Pacific Environmental Systems WeatherPak, a SeaBird 21 thermosalinograph, and digitized inputs from the ship's gyrocompass and GPS. Additional sensors may include a flow-through transmissometer, a light meter, and a fluorometer. The second system consists of a SeaBird 911+ CTD with bottle carousel, oxygen sensor and altimeter; additional instruments could include transmissometers, fluorometers and light meters. Water samples would be taken from 7-10 depths but no analysis will be conducted. The Contractor shall collect underway data whenever the ship is underway: during transits to and from port, during survey operations, during calibration activities and while servicing shore camps. Data products will include real time displays of selected variables, time averaged data logs indexed by position, date and time, and a report describing the data collection activities and associated files. Collect of CTD data will be conducted at fixed survey stations (approximately 115 stations on each of two surveys) plus occasional unscheduled stations (less than 20 total). Data products will include raw scan data files, processed and bin averaged data files, sample bottle files, and a report describing the data collection activities and associated files. The Contractor shall assure that data collected by the oceanographic program meet high standards. This may require re-processing of historical data collected by previous AMLR surveys with up-to-date algorithms. Quality control and assurance procedures shall include error checking for all stations. Basic QA will also require data entry into a US AMLR database that will record station and cast information at each sampling station. A Request for Quote (RFQ) solicitation is available for download. The estimated response due date is September 14, 2009. This procurement is competed 100% small business set-aside in accordance with FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures under $100K. Period of performance is one year from date of award through September 30, 2010. There will be no option periods. The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) is 541330 with a size standard of $4.5 million. Interested parties should use the FedBizOpps [Add To Watchlist] and [Add Me To Interested Vendors] features which provide a notification when the RFQ becomes available for download as well as all postings of information associated with this solicitation, thereafter. Each potential offeror is responsible for checking the FedBizOpps website to gain all current information related to the solicitation. The solicitation and any further announcements regarding the solicitation will be posted only at http://www.fedbizopps.gov/. All questions of any nature regarding this procurement are to be sent to the Contract Specialist, Mona Ash at contact@example.gov three days prior to the due date of September 14, 2009. All vendors doing business with the Government are required to be registered with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). NO award can be made unless the vendor is registered in CCR. For additional information, and to register in CCR, please access the following web site: http:///www.ccr.gov/. In order to register with the CCR and to be eligible to receive an award from this acquisition office, all offerors must also have a Dun & Bradstreet Number. A Dun & Bradstreet number may be acquired free of charge by contacting Dun & Bradstreet on-line at https://www.dnb.com/product/eupdate/requestOptions.html or by phone at +1 (555) 000-0000. This procurement also requires offerors to complete the On-Line Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) at https://orca.bpn.gov/.