Department of Commerce, NOAA, 200 World Trade Center, Room 209, Norfolk, VA 23510-1624

T -- PREPARATION OF GRIDDED CLIMATE DATA FOR U. S. CLIMATIC ATLAS SOL RFQ EASC 98-0032 DUE 033198 POC Lynne Phipps, Contract Specialist (757) 441-6881, Melvyn DesJarlais, Contracting Officer (757) 441-6647 WEB: RFP EASC 98-0032, http://www.noaa.easc.gov. E-MAIL: Lynne Phipps, Lynn.B.Phipps@noaa.gov. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Eastern Administrative Support Center intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with the Oregon State University (OSU) for preparation of gridded climate data for an updated climatic atlas of the United States. The National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC (NCDC) is the manager of the nation's resource of retrospective global climatological in-situ and remotely sensed data and information. Part of this data includes a climatic atlas of the United States. The current atlas, published in 1968 is very much out of date. NCDC requires that the atlas be updated, however, it was recognized that preparing updated maps using traditional hand-drawn methods would be cost prohibitive. Also, most objective methods for generating climate maps performed poorly in areas with high relief, such as the western United States. OSU developed an analytical model called PRISM (Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model) specifically to grid climate data by taking into account the earth's topography (elevation, slopes and aspects. The PRISM derived grid is then input into a geographic information system (GIS) to generate map products. PRISM has been proven to be the most effective tool available to map precipitation, temperature, and other elements on a monthly, seasonal and annual scale. This method has been determined to be both practical and scientifically sound, therefore OSU is considered to be the only known source available to provide Phase II of the climate data atlas update. The statutory authority for other than full and open competition is 41 USC 253(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source. OSU has the historical data and is the only know source available to provide the update requirements. Companies who can provide the above listed services must indicate their interest within 10 days of this announcement. Any party interested in receiving a copy of Request for Quotation (RFQ) EASC 98-0032 shall provide written notice to the Contracting Office. The solicitation document will be issued on or about March 17, 1998. Fax requests to (757) 441-3786. Telephone requests will not be accepted. No contract award will be made on the basis of quotations received in response to this notice since this synopsis cannot be considered a Request for Quotation. The resultant purchase order will be firm fixed price. All responses from responsible sources will be considered. This is a simplified acquisition with a value of less than $100,000. See Notes 26 and 22. (0071)

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