Department of Commerce (DOC)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Sources Sought

Isotope analysis of atmospheric trace gases and measurement of VOC in atmospheric air samples

INTRODUCTION

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. 

This Sources Sought notice is issued solely for information and market research planning purposes; it does not constitute a solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation.  Furthermore, those who respond to this Sources Sought notice should not anticipate feedback with regards to its submission; other than acknowledgment of receipt – ONLY IF a request for an acknowledgement is requested by the submitter.  This Sources Sought notice does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service.  NOAA is not seeking proposals at this time.  Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay any costs incurred in response to this Sources Sought notice.  All costs associated with responding to this Sources Sought notice will be solely at the interested party’s expense.  Not responding to this Sources Sought notice does not preclude participation in any future solicitation.

The information provided in this Sources Sought notice is subject to change and is not binding on the Government.  All submissions become the property of the Federal Government, and will not be returned.

Any information that the vendor considers proprietary should be clearly marked as such. 

REQUIREMENT

This project is for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) Global Monitoring Division (GMD) Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network (GGGRN).  This is a follow on contract for work currently performed by a University. The analysis of atmospheric trace gases from NOAA GGGRN atmospheric air samples (http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/) is a critically important component of NOAA’s research.  In addition to the mole fraction measurements of these air samples made at NOAA, there is significant added value from analysis of isotopic ratios, radio carbon, and volatile organic compounds (VOC) from these same air samples.       

The Government is seeking sources capable of fulfilling the following need.  The Performance Work Statement consists of:

Isotope analysis of multiple atmospheric trace gases and measurement of VOC in atmospheric air samples from the GGGRN and related programs. Aliquots are to be taken from a) pairs of 2.2 liter sample flasks in the global network and b) samples within Programmable Flask Packages (PFPs).  Precision requirements are those deemed necessary for scientifically meaningful detection of expected gradients within the atmosphere and are detailed below.

1. Processing and measurement requirements:
   1. Stable isotopes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2): Provide quantitative isotopic measurement from whole-air atmospheric samples for carbon dioxide including 13C and 18O.  Results to be reported in per mil (‰) relative to and on scales established by international (IAEA) primary reference materials.  The reproducibility of the measurements should be ± 0.02 ‰ and ± 0.05 ‰ for carbon and oxygen respectively.  Measurements will be done on 500 cc of air or less. The long term measurement performance must be demonstrated based on past performance in measuring repeat measurements from control cylinders.
   2. Radiocarbon (14C) of Carbon Dioxide (CO2): Provide i) quantitative, cryogenic extraction and purification of CO2 from  whole-air atmospheric samples, ii) graphitization, and iii) AMS 14C measurement with iv) combined, long-term (multi-year) external measurement repeatability of 2 ‰ or better (1-sigma on 14C scale). The long-term measurement performance must be demonstrated based on past performance in measuring repeat extraction aliquots of whole air from control cylinders.
   3. Radiocarbon (14C) of Methane (CH4):  Provide i) purification of CH4 from whole-air atmospheric samples and quantitative conversion to CO2 for , ii) graphitization, and iii) AMS 14C measurements with iv) external measurement precision of ≤ 4 o/oo as determined from pair differences or repeat measurement control materials.
   4. Stable isotopes of Methane (CH4): Provide quantitative isotopic measurement from whole-air atmospheric samples for methane including 13C and D.  Results to be reported in per mil (‰) relative to and on scales established by international (IAEA) primary reference materials.  The reproducibility of the measurements should be ± 0.08 ‰ and ± 2 ‰ for carbon and hydrogen respectively.  Measurements will be done on total of 200cc of air or less for both isotopes. The long term measurement performance must be demonstrated based on past performance in measuring repeat measurements from control cylinders.
   5. Volatile Organic Compounds and Non-methane hydrocarbons:

Provide quantitative speciated measurement from whole-air atmospheric samples for VOC, including but not limited to ethane, propane, butane isomers, pentane isomers, n-hexane, isoprene, benzene and toluene.   Results to be reported in mole fraction (nmol mol-1), with calibration scales to be traceable long term and against international standard scales.  Calibration scales need to conform to the scale of the World Calibration Center for VOC (http://imk-ifu.fzk.de/wcc-voc/).   Accuracy and reproducibility need to meet or be better than thresholds defined by the WMO GAW.  Measurements will be done on no more than 500 ml of air or less for all VOC. The long term measurement performance must be demonstrated based on past performance in measuring repeat measurements from control cylinders and by WCC audits.

1. 1. References and standards:  Suites of compressed whole-air cylinders shall be analyzed for a.) – c.) above and maintained over years to decades to ensure scale stability and comparability to other global measurements.  They will also provide metrics of long-term reproducibility.
2. Sample turn-around time:

Provide in-lab sample container turnaround time of 50 calendar days or less for individual air samples, in the potential case of each sample having the full suite of analysis tasks a., b., c., d., and e performed and completed (as outlined above).  It is anticipated that longer delays might be occasionally necessary as instrument downtime dictates, recognizing that these are difficult and not routine measurements.

1. Measurement capacity:
   1. Stable isotopes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2): Provide analysis of up to 20,000 samples per year from network flasks and PFPs.
   2. Radiocarbon (14C) of Carbon Dioxide (CO2): Provide for extraction of up to 5,000 authentic samples per year and measurement of 1,000 to 3,000 authentic samples per year from network flasks and PFPs.
   3. Radiocarbon (14C) of Methane (CH4):  Provide analysis of up to 400 samples per year from NOAA network cylinders.
   4. Stable Isotopes of Methane (CH4): Provide analysis of up to 10,000 samples per year from network flasks and PFPs.
   5. Volatile Organic Compounds and Non-methane hydrocarbons:  Provide analysis of up to 3,000 samples per year from network flasks and PFP’s.
   6. References and standards:  Provide analysis of up to 100 control cylinders per year.
2. Data management and traceability:
   1. The laboratory (or laboratories) will be expected to have traceability to international reference materials that place sample data on established measurement scales.  Data should be available that will allow all samples to be post processed at any time to account for subsequent adjustments to reference scales.
   2. Lab shall provide processed initial results and subsequent QC revisions using NOAA IT approved remote access methodologies and CCGG group provided data processing routines to merge datasets into the primary data base repository.  Lab must be able to adjust the format and contents of result data files to meet changing requirements of the ingest systems as needed.
   3. The laboratory (or laboratories) will be expected to participate in inter-comparison exercises with other labs around the world.  This will document the ability of NOAA produced data to be used in conjunction with other data sets without significant scale offsets or measurement artifacts.  Coordination will be made with the NOAA GGGRN to make data freely available for this effort.

PURPOSE

1. To determine industry capabilities to fulfil the aforementioned requirement.
2. To determine size standard of vendors capable of fulfilling the aforementioned requirement.
3. To identify any special requirements associated with this industry.

RESPONSE FORMAT

In order to better assist in the review of submittals to this Sources Sought notice, respondents are encouraged to prepare a capabilities statement that closely adheres to the following format:

The document format shall be either Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) formats. Responses shall be prepared using 12 pt. font, 1 inch margins, and 8.5” by 11” paper and shall not exceed five (5) pages in length, including images, data displays, charts, graphs, and tables.

Respondents are encouraged to ensure that their submittals are complete and address all items outlined within this Sources Sought notice. Respondents may provide additional promotional literature in addition to their response as long as the literature conforms to the response format. Submissions in response to this Sources Sought notice shall not exceed five (5) pages.

RESPONSE DEADLINE AND REQUESTED INFORMATION

Responses to this notice should be submitted in the form of Microsoft Word and/or PDF (searchable format) documents attached to emails received no later than 09:00am MST, Wednesday, February 26, 2020 to:

• Contract Specialist: Ryan Stroud at [email protected]

Interested parties are requested to submit a statement of capability outlining past work that is related to this requirement. The statement of capability shall also include the information listed below:

1. Company Name/Division, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone, FAX numbers, and website address (if available).
2.  Single point-of-contact name, title, telephone, and email address.
3. DUNS number, CAGE Code, Tax Identification Number (TIN), and company structure

(Corporation, LLC, partnership, joint venture, etc.).  Please note that companies must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be considered potential sources

(https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/).

1. Applicable NAICS code under which the company customarily does business.
2. Business size for NAICS Code and socio-economic status, if qualified as one or more of the following:
   1. 8(a) firm (must be certified by SBA)
   2. Small Disadvantaged Business (must be certified by SBA)
   3. Woman-Owned Small Business
   4. HUBZone firm (must be certified by SBA)
   5. Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (must be listed in the VetBiz Vendor Information pages)
3. A description of the firm’s ability to perform the work and any other information you believe to be important and relevant to the purposes of this Sources Sought notice.

The responses received will assist NOAA with identifying the number and nature of the entities that consider themselves feasible technical solution providers.

Each respondent, by submitting a response, agrees that any cost incurred by it in responding to this request, or in support of activities associated with this Sources Sought notice, shall be the sole responsibility of respondent. NOAA shall incur no obligations or liabilities whatsoever, to anyone, for any costs or expenses incurred by the respondent in responding to this Sources Sought notice.  Responses to this Sources Sought notice will not be returned.

INDUSTRY DISCUSSIONS

Some respondents may be asked to provide additional information regarding the matters addressed in this Sources Sought notice.  Such requests will be provided approximately two (2) weeks following the deadline to respond to this Sources Sought notice. Those respondents will be contacted directly if there is a need for further information.