This requirement is being procured in accordance with FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisitions Procedures. The office of NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory located in Seattle, WA intends to acquire quantity of two each automated underway pC02 systems for delivery to NOAA PMEL Office by February15, 2006. The intended acquisition is for supplies for which the Government intends to acquire from one source under the authority of 41 USC 234 (c) (1), Only One Responsible Source. Over the last decade the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory of NOAA has become a leader in the international effort to determine partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in the world’s oceans. In order to detect the small secular changes in ocean carbon fluxes, these global observations must be of the highest possible quality. Only by the strictest attention to quality control, intercomparison, and the use of standard reference gases has the carbon community, as a whole, been able to reduce errors in pCO2 measurements. The quantitative assessment of the global mass balance of CO2 is a vital component of the Global Carbon Cycle Program. As part of a multi-year effort to quantify the flux of carbon dioxide between the ocean and atmosphere under NOAA's climate forcing portfolio, systems to measure partial pressure of CO2 are being placed on volunteer observing ships and research ships. To date, the systems have been built in house. Because of the increased scope of the effort, we seek a commercial vendor, General Oceanics, to build the units to exact and exacting specifications provided by PMEL and AOML (Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory). To assure conformity these criteria are based on the four current systems operated by the PMEL/CO2 group and similar additional systems operated by AOML. General Oceanics has provided underway pCO2 systems for AOML in the past several years for the Sea Keepers program, part of the NOAA Global Carbon Cycle Program. General Oceanics has been working to create pCO2 systems that meet the specifications of the pCO2 systems currently in use by PMEL and AOML. The underway system must be capable of measuring atmospheric pCO2 to within ± 1 μatm and surface ocean pCO2 to within ± 2 μatm. The system must be self-contained and portable. It must be fully operational and include: 1) Equilibrator box for both air and seawater lines, filters, flow controllers, gas drying system, and temperature and pressure sensors; 2) Valve box that contains a Valco multi-position valve controlled by an onboard computer and interface electronics, and a Li-Cor IR analyzer to be supplied by the user. The Valco multi-position valve must take a minimum of six gas lines for both standards and samples. No other underway pCO2 system with these specifications can be purchased within the United States. In order to maintain the statistical integrity of the data, it is critical that PMEL utilize the same system as AOML. The Government reserves the right to solicit offers based on receipt of affirmative responses to this notice or issue a contract to General Oceanics, Inc whichever is determined to be more advantageous to the Government, without further notice. Only firms that can provide the exact equipment described herein will be considered. All interested parties must respond to this announcement within ten (10) calendar days of its publication. All responses must be in writing and may be faxed to (206)526-6025, attention Maria Mendoza. This is a simplified acquisition with an estimated value of less than $100, 000.00. ****The Western Regional Acquisition Division, requires that all contractors doing business with this Acquisition Office be registered with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) as of October 1, 2003. After this date, NO award can be made unless the vender 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 have a Dun & Bradstreet Number. A Dun & Bradstreet number may be acquired free of charge by contacting Dun & Bradstreet on-line at www.dnb.com/eupdate or by phone at (800) 333-0505.

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