SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Scientific Support Services
- Notice Date
- 5/12/2014
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541620
— Environmental Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office, SSMC2 - 11th floor /OFA61, 1325 East West Highway, 11th Floor, Silver Spring, Maryland, 20910, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20910
- Solicitation Number
- EA133W-14-RFI-02194
- Archive Date
- 7/5/2014
- Point of Contact
- Catherine A. Perren,
- E-Mail Address
-
catherine.a.perren@noaa.gov
(catherine.a.perren@noaa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- 52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997) (a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (b) Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. (c) This solicitation is issued for the purpose of: Information (end of clause) THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. This is a Request for Information (RFI); a market research tool used by the Government to gauge the marketplace and learn the industry's capabilities. NOAA is also seeking to make a set-aside determination for this requirement. Responses from qualified small businesses in all socioeconomic categories ((HUBZone, 8(a), SDVOSB, WOSB) will assist in that determination. The information requested hereunder is for planning purposes and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued or contract awarded. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of the submission of information. Responses to the notice will not be returned. The Government will not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any improperly identified proprietary information. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with Government regulations. Overview of Potential Requirement: The National Centers of Environmental Prediction (NCEP), an office under the National Weather Service, is the nation's focal point for all matters relating to environmental modeling. Its mission is to deliver national and global weather, water, climate and space weather guidance, forecasts, warnings and analyses to its partners and external user communities. In 1986, the Environmental Modeling Center (EMC), one of nine NCEP centers, established a scientific services program. Since then, the services have provided computing programming for NCEP's mission, including development and maintenance of complex scientific algorithms for numerical forecast systems covering global and regional applications in weather, oceanographic, climate, land surface, air quality, hurricanes and hydrological forecast systems, together with transition of forecast, analysis, ensemble, data basing software and display system technology into operations. NCEP has a need for scientific services to (a) develop and maintain complex scientific algorithms for numerical forecast systems covering meteorological, oceanographic, air quality and environmental monitoring, ecosystem and hydrological forecast systems, and (b) transition into operations numerical forecast system upgrades. The "transition-to-operations" of each numerical forecast system upgrade involves both ensuring codes and scripts meet operational standards and testing systems immediately prior to operational implementation. Tasking areas: Mesoscale Modeling Support Mesoscale is everywhere here meant to include mesoscale (16 km or less grid spacing), convection-allowing scale (6 km or less grid spacing), and stormscale (1 km or less grid spacing); Mesoscale four-dimensional data assimilation of satellite, conventional (e.g., upper air, surface, aircraft, ship), and other remotely-sensed (e.g., profilers, Doppler radar, satellite) observations in support of NWS operational forecast systems on continental, regional, and local scales; Advanced numerical and fluid dynamics techniques applied to mesoscale numerical prediction (aka modeling) and data assimilation applications; Parameterization of sub-grid mesoscale physics and processes in the atmosphere and interactions between atmosphere, ocean, and land surfaces; Diagnostic studies of mesoscale weather phenomena, forecast system model performance, and mesoscale ensemble forecasting particularly relative to predicting quantitative precipitation and severe weather phenomena or events; Development of real-time and un-restricted mesoscale analyses, regional reanalyses and regional climate modeling for operations support; Implementation and testing of a frequently updated mesoscale atmospheric analysis and forecast systems, Rapid Refresh and High Resolution Rapid Refresh; Product development and support for operational requirements from various user sectors, e.g., domestic aviation [Next-Generation Air Traffic Control System], fire weather, air quality, wind/solar energy, tropical cyclones, etc.; Data impact studies to evaluate the contribution to forecast skill of current and future observing systems; Mesoscale data base design and content, data ingest and data quality control; and Collaborative development with external scientists, including those of the Development Testbed Center (DTC), NOAA Climate Program Office (NCPO) and the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA), and maintenance support for all of the above applications. Global Weather Modeling Support Development and scientific maintenance of optimal four-dimensional data assimilation systems for conventional, satellite and other remotely-sensed observations including advanced radiative transfer codes; Advanced numerical techniques for modeling the atmosphere and interactions between the atmosphere, ocean, and land surfaces; Parameterization of sub-grid scale physical processes in the atmosphere, and physically-based coupling between the atmosphere, ocean, and land surfaces; Data base content and design, data ingest and quality control for all operationally available observations; Impact studies to evaluate the contribution to forecast skill of current and future global observing systems; International aviation product development and support for operational requirements from the Next-Generation Air Traffic Control System; Support for tropical prediction, including development, verification, and diagnosis of numerical products and forecast systems for hurricane track and intensity from global models; Diagnostic studies of global model performance; Collaboration with other organizations and external scientists, including those of the NOAA Climate Program Office (NCPO) and the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA), on global forecast physics and fluid dynamical systems, including extended-range prediction research and ensemble forecasting; Collaboration on use of remotely-sensed observations (satellite and radar) and evaluation of observing system impacts on model forecast skill; and Observing system simulation experiments to prepare for the use of data from new observing system technologies. Ocean Modeling Support Development of deep and shallow water wave forecast models for global, regional, Great Lakes domains, with adaptive nesting, coupling to ocean, sea ice and atmospheric models, real-time data assimilation, verification statistics and diagnostic capabilities; Coastal and global ocean modeling, data assimilation and coupling to sea ice, atmospheric and wave models; Collaboration with NOAA, Navy and other organizations on ocean, wave and storm surge modeling and forecast products; Sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice (SI) modeling and analysis products (including in coupled models); Analysis of atmospheric forcing over the global oceans, coastal seas, and the Great Lakes area; High resolution re-analyses of ocean and surface wave conditions in coastal regions; and Data base content and design, data ingest and quality control of marine observations and generation of marine products from observations and numerical forecast systems. Seasonal Climate Forecast Support Development of a global ocean model and a four-dimensional ocean data assimilation system applied to climate forecast time scales for the coupled ocean-atmosphere-land-sea ice-wave forecast system over the global domain; Collaboration on the development of seasonal climate prediction methodologies, including initialization of seasonal forecasts construction of multi-model ensembles and product generation and evaluation; Develop and execute a climate reanalysis, including a data assimilation system, a coupled atmosphere-ocean-land-sea ice-wave forecast system and associated products and functions such as archival, data access, and facilitation of reanalysis studies by the scientific community; Collaboration with other organizations on the development of global ocean observing and analysis systems; Data base content and design, data ingest and quality control for coupled ocean-atmosphere models; Develop data assimilation methods, data bases and output products to meet climate analysis requirements; and Develop and maintain SST and sea ice systems for seasonal climate modeling and diagnostics. Hurricane Modeling Support Develop components of the operation Hurricane Forecast System (HFS), including atmospheric model, ocean model, wave model and land surface model to improve track and intensity forecasts, and quantitative precipitation forecasts after landfall; Provide support for community use of the HFS as required by the Development Testbed Center (DTC); Assimilate and improve use of airborne Doppler radar data into the HFS; and Interact with community scientists to transition new technologies, such as ensemble techniques, and new physical parameterizations of convection, cloud microphysics and planetary boundary layer into operations. Ensemble and Forecast Product Support Develop and implement operational ensemble forecast systems for NCEP's forecast applications for both global and regional domains, including the atmosphere, ocean surface waves and interior, sea ice, air quality and homeland security, hydrology and aviation, and space weather; Develop and implement forecast products from the array of operational numerical forecast systems in collabororation with end users and partners; Develop and implement observing strategies such as targeted observations for forecasting high impact weather; Develop ensemble techniques for evaluating forecast errors; and Develop ensemble products, downscale to higher resolution, and reduce bias of precipitation forecasts for water management use. Air Quality, Environmental Monitoring, Atmospheric Diffusion and Homeland Security Develop an Air Quality forecast system for domestic (continental US, Alaska and Hawaii) application; Develop a global environmental monitoring and forecast system for ozone, carbon dioxide, aerosols and particulates, and trace gases; and Develop high resolution atmospheric diffusion forecast systems, including ensemble-based products, to meet requirements of Homeland Security agencies. Ecosystems and Other Societal Applications Transition forecast models for ocean and terrestrial ecosystems to NCEP's operational suite; and, Collaborate with external scientists and organizations to support their societally relevant applications using NCEP's forecast products for the physical environment (atmosphere, ocean, land surface, cryosphere). Land Surface and Hydrology Develop, maintain and enhance global and regional land surface data assimilation systems for both weather and climate applications; Improve the physics of the land surface and land/atmosphere interactions in all NCEP mesoscale, global and climate forecast models; Maintain and upgrade the community Unified Noah Land Surface Model, jointly with partners at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), for use by NCEP external collaborators in land surface modeling; Diagnose and mitigate lower atmospheric forecast errors related to land surface physics including precipitation and temperature biases; Improve radiative transfer science at the atmosphere-land surface boundary, such as in the Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM), including surface emissivity and surface albedo; Develop streamflow modeling capability and apply to weather and climate applications, including freshwater inflow into NCEP ocean models; and Provide analysis and forecast tools for drought monitoring and prediction. Space Weather Integrate and maintain physically-based extensions of the Global Forecast System to extend the GFS upper boundary beyond 60 km and provide input to space weather models; Integrate and maintain optimal four-dimensional data assimilation systems for satellite (e.g., COSMIC) and ground-based (e.g., CORS) observations for global and mesoscale ionospheric modeling; Integrate and maintain advanced magnetohydrodynamic models of the solar corona, solar wind, and magnetosphere; and Maintain codes for parameterization of sub-grid mesoscale physics and processes associated with coronal mass ejections, energetic particle acceleration, magnetic reconnection, and non-MHD particle transport in the inner magnetosphere. Product and Systems Development and Support Maintain and improve content and design of data bases for operational and experimental analyses and forecasts with emphasis on accessibility and ease of use; Provide tools for real-time and batch access, functional display, and hard copy production of data base contents; Document and maintain model/experiment software programs and other systems including user graphical interfaces; Provide advanced visualization capabilities for 2- and 3-dimensional display of experimental data; Provide user graphical interface tools and utilities including object-oriented programming tools and geographic information systems (GIS) and scientific visualization applications for presentation of model results and advanced diagnostic studies; Develop interactive and batch scripts in various languages such as UNIX/C and Perl and program utilities for running experiments; Provide software and utilities for Web-based display of operational and experimental forecast output, including gridded fields and observations; Support and develop applications for community-based software such as Earth-System Modeling Framework; and, Provide standard and advanced verification software and data bases for NCEP operational forecasts and analyses. Support of NCEP's Software to the External Community The requirements for this tasking area include providing support scientist services for the following technology transfer activities; Modify forecast systems software developed by scientists outside NCEP for use on NCEP computers; Diagnose and evaluate forecast system products in collaboration with scientists external to NCEP; Provide software and infrastructure for technology infusion of numerical forecast systems, which includes making historical NCEP numerical forecast products available to the external scientific community, re-running historical forecast cases for external collaborators and developing and maintaining and a model forecast and data assimilation launcher system; Provide technical and administrative support and required to transfer and use NCEP forecast system software codes and documentation to the Development Testbed Center and other Testbeds for use by approved users and collaborators; Provide appropriate user support in understanding these codes and documentation; and Keep a log of all related activities, phone calls and contacts, including the contacts name, affiliation, phone number or internet address, and a synopsis of the conversation. Estimated Contract Value: $50M - $75M How to Respond: Vendors are invited to submit a capability statement outlining qualifications and experience. Responses should demonstrate the vendor's capability to perform the tasking areas; experience will be reviewed on the basis relevant to scope and complexity related to the above tasking areas. Responses should contain company name, address, point of contact, telephone number, and e-mail address. Vendors should state their size standard for the applicable NAICS code and list all socioeconomic classifications for which they qualify. Responses are to be submitted electronically (not to exceed 25 pages; including appendices, diagrams, and examples using one inch margins, and pages numbered consecutively). Submit responses electronically (using PDF or Microsoft Word) no later than 1:00 pm eastern, June 20, 2014 at the following address: catherine.a.perren@noaa.gov. To further clarify the requirement and respond to vendor questions, NOAA is hosting an industry day on June 13, 2014. Details will follow.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NOAA/AGAMD/EA133W-14-RFI-02194/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Silver Spring, MD, United States
- Record
- SN03363916-W 20140514/140512234700-fb6f8dd8bad520791d57572a1e054740 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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