SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Investigations of Chemosynthetic Communities on the Lower Continental Slope of the Gulf of Mexico
- Notice Date
- 3/30/2005
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Minerals Management Service Procurement Operations Branch 381 Elden Street, MS 2100 Herndon VA 20170
- ZIP Code
- 20170
- Solicitation Number
- 0105RP39187
- Response Due
- 4/20/2005
- Archive Date
- 3/30/2006
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE (MMS), solicits CAPABILITIES STATEMENTS for the study entitled "INVESTIGATIONS OF CHEMOSYNTHETIC COMMUNITIES ON THE LOWER CONTINENTAL SLOPE OF THE GULF OF MEXICO". The NAICS code is 541990. The MMS intends to competitively award a contract for a requirement under the auspices of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP). NOPP is a collaboration of fifteen Federal agencies to provide leadership and coordination of national oceanographic research and education programs. This solicitation directly addresses two of five elements of the NOPP Investment Strategy that represent emerging national ocean research needs and agency priorities Operational/Routine Observations and Outreach/Education). Both Minerals Management Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Ocean Exploration Office will be collaborating agencies. INTRODUCTION: The vast majority of the bottom in deepwater areas of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is comprised of soft sediments (mixtures of sand, silt, and clay), but two other major habitat types also occur; chemosynthetic communities and a variety of community types that can be associated with hard bottom in areas that may or may not also be associated with living chemosynthetic megafauna (most all hard bottom areas in the deep Gulf are created through biogenic precipitation of carbonate by chemosynthetic bacteria). Many MMS sponsored studies have been limited to the maximum depths of the most commonly available in situ observation research tools including the submersibles from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, the Johnson Sea Link I and II, and the Navy's nuclear research submarine, NR1. All three of these facilities are limited to approximately a 1,000 m working depth. There is a great deal of evidence that chemosynthetic communities occur, and are probably common at depths below 1,000 m. Several high-density chemosynthetic communities have been documented at depths below 2,000 m in the central GOM. Remote sensing signatures, including space imagery and reflectivity of the sea floor from seismic surveys, indicate that there may be many more undiscovered high-density communities in deeper areas of the Gulf, particularly between 1,000 and 2,000 m in depth. Differences in bottom sediment regimes, salt structure, water temperatures, and hydrate stability compared to the upper slope may radically alter the abundance and composition of lower slope communities. In addition, deepwater hard bottom habitats not associated with chemosynthetic communities are also recognized for their value as unique fish habitat, high biodiversity and deepwater coral habitat. The most significant deepwater coral species in the GOM, Lophelia has only been recorded from the upper slope depths, but there is no reason not to expect some coral growth, and even the presence of Lophelia at depths below 1,000 m. Although Lophelia is most common world wide between 200-500 m, it has been reported as deep as 3,000 m. One fundamental MMS mission is to identify and consider the protection of sensitive biological habitats in U.S. Federal waters. The oil and gas industry has, and will continue to move into deeper and deeper water in their continuing search for extractable energy reserves in the Gulf of Mexico. Knowledge of the distribution, relative abundance, and population structures of deepwater organisms provides critical information to estimate the potential effects of deepwater exploration and production and allow refinement of mitigation measures for the deeper continental slope area. Little is presently known about the potential occurrence and distribution of lower slope chemosynthetic communities and their sensitivity to possible impacting activities related to energy production. There may be significant differences between upper and lower slope chemosynthetic communities. Even less is known about coral or other hard bottom fauna inhabiting limited hard substrate on the lower Gulf slope. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY ARE: (1) to characterize known or newly discovered chemosynthetic communities at depths below 1,000 m in the central or western Gulf of Mexico. (2) to characterize all other hard bottom biological communities encountered regardless of associations with active hydrocarbon seep activity or living chemosynthetic community species in the central or western Gulf of Mexico, 3) to determine the comparative degree of sensitivity to anthropogenic impacts for both 1) and 2) above through a variety of approaches such as rarity, unique taxonomy/biodiversity, or other environmental risk assessment methodologies. This objective includes development of understanding how these deep communities are similar or different from their shallower counterparts and 4) to further develop successful assessment methodologies for correlation of remote sensing information such as bathymetry, seabed acoustic reflectivity (anomalies), sub-bottom structure or other geophysical signatures obtained by non-visual techniques with the "potential" presence of non-soft bottom biological communities at depths below 1,000 m in the central or western Gulf of Mexico. SCOPE OF WORK: This study consists of eight (8) main tasks: (1) selection of a Scientific Review Group; (2) refinement of hypotheses, field methodologies and logistics; (3) site selection; (4) field sampling; (5) sample and data analysis; (6) data interpretation, synthesis and reporting; (7) development of educational outreach materials; and (8) interaction with international marine life database organizations. The estimated cost of this study is between $2.8 and $3.0 million. The performance period of this study is anticipated to be forty-eight (48) months. The field work is anticipated to occur during the summer of the second and third years with the remaining time dedicated to analyses, synthesis of results, and completion of all deliverables. The study area is the region of the northern Gulf of Mexico lower continental slope below a depth of 1,000 m. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Ocean Exploration (NOAA OE) is expected to provide, at no cost to the Offeror, up to 15 days of field time on the R/V Atlantis II including the DSRV Alvin submersible during 2006 and up to 15 days of field time including research vessel and other submergence facilities such as ROVs for the 2007 field year (not Alvin). HOW TO RESPOND: Submit Capabilities Statements on or before COB April 20, 2005, detailing: (1) Your key personnel, scientific and technical, (those who would have the primary responsibility for performing and/or managing the project) with their qualifications, specific expertise, and experience. Particularly relevant is their expertise in the fields of deep-sea biology (including field and laboratory work experience) demonstrated by qualification and authorship in peer-reviewed publications. Information about technical personnel who will be responsible for the organization of information and the production of documents and manuscripts must be provided. (2) Your organization's experience with this type of work and a description of your facilities. Specifically, the MMS and NOAA OE will look at your ability to timely complete projects, adhere to schedules and budgets, effectiveness of cost controls, and quality of products delivered; degree of comparability of past projects to the current project, including number, complexity, and size. Information about your subcontracts, partners, and quality of cooperation between organization, staff, key personnel, and the client must be provided. (3) Specific references (including project identifier/contract number and description, period of performance, dollar amount, client name, and current telephone number) for work of this nature that your personnel or organization is currently performing or has completed within the last three years. If you believe the Government will find derogatory information as a result of checking your past performance record, please provide an explanation and any remedial action taken by your company to address the problem. All proprietary information should be marked as such. Responses will be reviewed and will be held in a confidential manner. EVALUATION OF CAPABILITY STATEMENTS: (1) Past Performance, which includes: adherence to schedules and budgets, effectiveness of cost control, the acceptability of previous products delivered, effectiveness of program management, and the Offeror's willingness to cooperate with the customer in both routine matters and when confronted by unexpected difficulties. (2) The degree of comparability of past projects to the current project, including number, complexity, and size. (3) The experience and expertise of all scientific and technical key personnel. Evaluation factors include the length and quality of experience for each person assigned to perform specific tasks, their experience and expertise in the fields applicable to the performance of this study and their level of effort commitment towards this study. (4) Your Project Manager's demonstrated leadership ability and experience with managing a large team and ability to control costs and to keep project performance and document preparation on schedule. CAPABILITY STATEMENTS SHALL BE SUBMITTED AS FOLLOWS: one original and two (2) copies of the Capabilities Statement to Debra Bridge, Contract Specialist, Minerals Management Service, Procurement Operations Branch, MS 2100, 381 Elden St., Herndon, VA 20170-4817. Four (4) additional copies shall be submitted to Connie Landry, Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, MS 5431, New Orleans, LA 70123-2394. Two (2) additional copies shall be submitted to Mr. John McDonough, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, SSMC3, 1315 East-West Hwy, Silver Spring, MD 20910. It is the responsibility of the Offeror to ensure that the Capabilities Statements are received by the date and time set forth above. Timeliness of receipt of submissions will be determined by the time received in the Procurement Operations Branch, Herndon, VA. Following the review of the capability statements, all offerors will be informed of the results of the evaluation, and those determined from the evaluation factors described above to be most qualified to successfully perform the effort will be provided a Request For Proposal (RFP). QUESTIONS should be faxed as soon as practicable to Debra Bridge at 703-787-1041 or e-mailed to debra.bridge@mms.gov and paula.barksdale@mms.gov. ALL INQUIRIES MUST INCLUDE RFP NUMBER 39187 and TITLE ("INVESTIGATIONS OF CHEMOSYNTHETIC COMMUNITIES ON THE LOWER CONTINENTAL SLOPE OF THE GULF OF MEXICO"), AS WELL AS YOUR FULL NAME, ORGANIZATION NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE AND FACSIMILE NUMBERS. REQUESTS OR QUESTIONS BY TELEPHONE ARE STRONGLY DISCOURAGED.
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- Record
- SN00778801-W 20050401/050330212335 (fbodaily.com)
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