SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- Vulnerability Assessment of California Current Food Webs and Economics to Ocean Acidification
- Notice Date
- 7/2/2013
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Western Region Acquisition Division, 7600 Sand Point Way, Northeast, Seattle, Washington, 98115-6349
- ZIP Code
- 98115-6349
- Solicitation Number
- WAD-NFFR7100-13-03547
- Archive Date
- 8/1/2013
- Point of Contact
- Maria L Mendoza, Phone: (206)526-6671
- E-Mail Address
-
Maria.L.Mendoza@noaa.gov
(Maria.L.Mendoza@noaa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS and is not a presolicitation announcement. The purpose of this Market Research and Sources Sought Notice is to gain knowledge of potential qualified Small Business, HUBZone, 8(a), Service Disabled Veteran owned, and Women owned Small Business firms. Responses to this Sources Sought Synopsis will be used by the Government in making appropriate acquisition decisions. The Northwest Fisheries Management Science Center (NWFSC), of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce (DOC) is a government agency charged with the mission of stewardship for living marine resources. This requisition is for Ecosystem Modeling of Ocean Acidification. The project aims to evaluate the likely economic and ecological outcomes of ocean acidification in the California Current. The vendor will implement modifications to the Atlantis ecosystem model that will: 01. Allow import of the new spatial maps of acidification impacts; this will be in the form of a coded submodel delivered through the Atlantis SVN system to NOAA researchers. 02. Allow novel relationships between these physical variables and production and mortality of biological functional groups; this will be in the form of a coded submodel delivered through the Atlantis SVN system to NOAA researchers. 03. Test new options for management strategies for simulated fisheries; this will be in the form of a coded submodel delivered through the Atlantis SVN system to NOAA researchers. Increasing fossil fuel emissions and the resulting increase in atmospheric CO2 levels will likely lead to a decline in seawater pH of 0.3 by the year 2100. Changes to seawater pH and the saturation state of aragonite and calcite (the minerals many organisms use to build protective structures) will not occur uniformly over space, but could lead to reduced populations of marine species including calcareous corals, benthos, and plankton groups. Though there is considerable ongoing effort in the field and laboratory to understand direct effects of ocean acidification on particular species, there have been few attempts to forecast the indirect and cumulative impacts of acidification, climate change, and harvest on whole food webs and fisheries. In this project NOAA researchers and the vendor will evaluate the likely economic and ecological outcomes of ocean acidification in the California Current. Specifically, we will: 1. Use a Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) to predict 50-100 year spatial projections of ocean acidification, as well as salinity, currents, and upwelling. ROMS will be coupled to global circulation models and IPCC CO2 scenarios. 2. Build on previous literature reviews and ongoing experiments to develop scenarios for the biological response of calcifying organisms to pH. 3. Use an Atlantis ecosystem model to project these direct impacts of acidification on lower trophic levels, the resulting food web-mediated response of harvested and protected stocks, and catches by US West Coast fisheries. Atlantis will be driven by dynamic, spatially explicit fields from ROMS. 4. Test management strategy performance in the face of ocean acidification and other global change. These strategies will range from current single-species fishery management rules to harvest control rules that respond to simple metrics of ecosystem productivity and susceptibility. SERVICES REQUIRED The vendor will provide the following services to assist evaluating the economic and ecological outcomes of ocean acidification in the California Current. The vendor will implement modifications to an existing Atlantis ecosystem model that will: 01. Allow the ecosystem model to import new spatial maps of acidification impacts provided by NOAA collaborators. 02. Allow novel relationships between physical variables (acidification, temperature, and O2) and production and mortality of biological functional groups 03. Test new options for management strategies that would allow resource managers to adjust policies in response to spatially patchy effects of acidification. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: The vendor must meet all the following requirements. Technical qualifications are more important than price. a. The vendor shall have 12+ years' experience in ecosystem modeling b. The vendor shall have extensive experience leading and developing ecosystem modeling frameworks c. The vendor should have at least 10 scientific peer-reviewed publications related to end-to-end ("whole of ecosystem") ecosystem modeling. d. The vendor should have at least two scientific peer reviewed publications related to ocean acidification. e. The vendor should have extensive expertise developing and modifying the Atlantis ecosystem modeling framework. This framework is spatially explicit, and can be driven by fields of pH, temperature, and oxygen from a Regional Ocean Modeling System. DELIVERABLES: Deliverables shall be provided to the Conservation Biology Ecosystem Science Program at the NWFSC by the performance dates indicated in the statement of work. Period of performance of this contract will commence from date of award through July 30, 2014. The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) is 541990 with a size standard of $14M. Interested firms shall provide, in writing, a brief narrative (no more than 3 pages in length) and documentation to support your firm's capability and experience meeting the requirements herein and include your firm's name, address, point of contact, telephone number, DUNS Number, CCR Cage Number, business type and size, i.e., small, large, non-profit, educational, and so forth. Any response that does not include this information will not be considered. The Government will review your response to determine if your firm has the experience, knowledge and capability to perform the services as specified above. This request for information does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued. Nor does this request for information constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise that any procurement action that may be issued for the Government's requirements. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of the submission of contractor's information. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. All contractors doing business with the Government are required to be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM). NOTE: THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT CONSIDERED A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL BUT A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. No solicitation document is available. No contract will be awarded on the basis of responses received to this notice. Detailed information must be submitted by email to the Purchasing Agent, Maria L. Mendoza at maria.l.mendoza@noaa.gov by 09:00 AM local Seattle time (PST), on Wednesday, July 17,2013. Questions of any nature must be addresses in writing as TELEPHONE INQUIRIES WILL NOT BE HONORED.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NOAA/WASC/WAD-NFFR7100-13-03547/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: SEATTLE, Washington, United States
- Record
- SN03105264-W 20130704/130702234630-4639283a7a38cf6560837f4770f51971 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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