Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Procurement Operations Branch, MS2500, 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817

B -- SYNTHESIS AND COLLECTION OF METEROLOGICAL DATA IN THE NEARSHORE BEAUFORT SEA SOL 1435-01-00-RP-31067 DUE 033000 POC Michael W. Hargrove, 703-787-1367, Lane Donley 703-787-1346 E-MAIL: michael.hargrove@mms.gov or lane.donley@mms.gov, Michael.Hargrove@mms.gov. Within the next five to ten years, oil and gas development in the Alaska OCS shall be in the nearshore region of the Beaufort Sea. Kozo's research in the 1970's and 1980's shows that the upper air pressure fields on which modeled wind fields used in Arctic regional circulation models generates inaccurate surface winds within 20-30 kilometers of the Beaufort Sea coast. In OCS areas off the contiguous 48 States and in the Bering Sea, MMS has established a network of meteorological buoys to monitor the lower atmosphere over long periods. Existing public domain data sets for the Beaufort nearshore are limited. The available data sets that collected time series in terms of months are too short for use in MMS models, such as the Coastal Zone Oil Spill Mode (COZOIL), the MMS oil weathering model, or the nearshore circulation model. Recent CMI studies comparing simulated winds from different Arctic and hemispheric wind models to Pt. Barrow winds are not relevant because along the Beaufort Sea coast towards theeast, local orographic and sea breeze effects are too great to be neglected. MMS has made initial contact with BP Exploration regarding our desire to locate and maintain meteorological stations at selected BP Exploration production facilities. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. The goals of this study are to collect new meteorological data from the deployment of meteorological stations, and to collate historical meteorological data from the Beaufort Sea locations subject to immediate and near term oil and gas development. The meteorological stations will be positioned at those locations that would maximize the collection of meteorological data from the area surrounding the proposed Northstar and Liberty oil and gas development projects in the Beaufort Sea. This study shall provide the completed time-series of wind data to MMS modelers and researchers for use in their ongoing modeling of the near shore Beaufort Sea. This study will be divided into two phases. The first phase of the study will require the contractor to: Provide Written Permission from Industry, Government Agencies or other Parties to Setup Meteorological Stations, Collect the Specific Data, and Maintain the Equipment over the life of the Project at Locations Identified by the Contractor for the Study Area,. Example locations are as shown in Figure 1 (to be provided later in the RFP). The second phase of the study will be completely dependent upon the successful completion of Phase 1 in a timely manner and shall consist of: (1) Deployment and Maintenance of the Meteorological Stations with the Collection of Data; (2) Collection of Historical Data Sets; (3) Development of Data Management System for Collected and other Historical Wind Data Sets; and (4) Analysis of the Collected Data and Collation with Historical Data. SCOPE OF WORK. Phase 1. Provide Written Permission from Industry, Government Agencies or other Parties to Setup Meteorological Stations, Collect the Specific Data, and Maintain the Equipment over the life of the Project at Specific Locations. The Contractor shall provide written permission to the COTR, within forty-five (45) days after the effective date of contract, from the respective parties granting permission to access their sites for the purpose of setting up the meteorological stations, station maintenance, and collection of the specified data over the life of the contract. The letter must describe the project goals, objectives, equipment specifications, and spatial dimensions of the meteorological stations. The contractor will have to describe where they plan to locate the stations and why those locations would be the most suitable for the project goals and to the success of the project. There shall be a minimum of four station locations, with additional alternative sites proposed by the contractor. The locations proposed by the contractor must be acceptable to the COTR. The contract award amount for Phase 1 is limited to $15,000.00. If the contractor is not successful in the completion of Phase 1, the Contracting Officer will terminate the contract for the Convenience of the Government. Phase 2. Task 1. Deployment and Maintenance of the Meteorological Stations with the Collection of Data. The Contractor shall collect a two year continuous time-series of wind data from a minimum of four meteorological stations as defined by the proposed' locations in Figure 1 (to be provided later). All of the meteorological stations shall collect wind speed, wind direction, barometric pressure, air temperature and water temperature (summer). The wind data are to be collected from a prescribed elevation that conforms to the 10-meter reference level for predicting waves and currents that are associated with wind generated phenomena. The proposed placement of the stations shall be situated at those locations that would best collect these data for the geographic area defined by the proposed Northstar and Liberty oil and gas development projects. The Northstar development project is currently underway with the island completion set for this summer. More specifics will have to be obtained from BP Exploration. An Environmental Impact Statement is currently being written for the proposed Liberty oil and gas development project. The data shall be collected at a minimum of one-hour time period, on a twenty four-hour continuous cycle, seven days a week. All stations must collect data for the same time period for a full two year cycle. This might necessitate some stations collecting data for periods of time longer than others. The contractor may propose the collection of data over a longer period of time under current budget constraints. The contractor shall ensure that all instruments are operational and function correctly at all times. All instrumentation must meet stringent, industry wide data collection standards in order to ensure the scientific integrity of the data. They shall have acquired the needed permissions to use the necessary facilities for the purpose of the placement, maintenance, and access to data from the meteorological stations. The contractor shall address contingency plans in case of failure by any of the instruments, satellite, or any other possible weaknesses in the system. All corrections to the system shall be done promptly without loss of data. The collection of the data shall be coordinated with BP Exploration, the State of Alaska, and other participants. All participants shall be provided with real time access to the data. Task 2. Collection of Historical Data Sets. The contractor shall collate historical wind speed and wind direction data from all available sources for the Beaufort Sea, Alaska. The effort shall be sufficient to compile these data into a single database with consistent data formats. All data shall contain metadata that describes how each data set had been collected. This task shall include a literature search of the known studies for this area. This effort shall not compromise the funding required to collect the real-time collection of wind speed and wind direction data in Tasks 1. Task 3. Development of Data Management System for Newly Collected Wind Measurements and Historical Measurements of Wind. The Contractor shall develop a data management system that consists of a data administration system, QA/QC processes, inventory control system, and a filing and archiving system. The meteorological data after QA/QC processes shall flow to a secured web site that shall receive real time downloads of the data. The secured site shall graphically display the locations and the operational status of all stations. The data shall be downloaded in raw format and in corrected format. All data shall be backed up and stored at a secured site. The raw data shall consist of all real-time data flowing directly from the meteorological stations via satellite to the secured Web site. The corrected data shall consist of all of the final corrected data stored within an online database. A utility shall be set up online so that the participants can download either the raw or the corrected data sets. The contractor shall perform quality control analysis on all meteorological data stored within the online database. The contractor shall confirm that the measurements taken by the meteorological stations are accurate. This confirmation may consist of running a statistical program against other stations in the area (e.g., Deadhorse) and provide the results to the COTR. These results of the statistical analysis shall be shown graphically on the featured Web Site. All erroneous data shall be identified and instrumentation quickly corrected or replaced, as necessary. The contractor shall develop the database structure and field definitions that are compatible with an Oracle database. If the data cannot be loaded in Oracle, then the data can be loaded in other software (e.g., Microsoft Access) with instructions on how to load into Oracle. The database documentation shall include a Data Dictionary, Instrumentation and Data Acquisition Methods, Quality Assurance of Data, and a Summary. The documentation shall also include a Field Log describing the status of the meteorological stations. Task 4. Analysis of the Collected Data and Collation with Historical Data. The Contractor shall insure all time series data is analyzed using accepted standard and state-of-the-art techniques. These analysis shall include, but are not limited to, calculations of time averages, variance and standard deviation, standard errors and confidence intervals, frequency auto- and cross spectrum, coherence and phase estimates. Graphical and tabular displays of these results shall be prepared using standard accepted styles. Maps and graphs shall show the distributions of the following fields: mean and seasonal wind, variance of winds, mean and seasonal wind stress, variance of wind stress, mean and variance of heat flux, and air and water temperature. All final analysis shall be included within a report written in Microsoft Word. The period of performance for this project is thirty (30) months and the cost range is $175,000 to $210,000. HOW TO RESPOND. In order to compete for this contract, an offeror must demonstrate they are qualified to perform the work by providing, NOT LATER THAN 30 MAR 2000, a CAPABILITY STATEMENT describing in detail: (A) KEY PERSONNEL with the experience and expertise to conduct the described study. For all areas of expertise, descriptions of key personnel should include their familiarity and understanding of available data regarding the Alaska OCS, their experience in the type of work proposed, demonstrated ability to perform the work, and an understanding of the directed mission of the MMS. Principal scientists must collectively illustrate relevant experience in all areas of expertise demonstrated through authorship, presentations, committee or group membership, through peer-reviewed publications, work history, and professional affiliations; (B) Ability of each key personnel to establish personal contacts with or working agreements between their company and data sources; (C) The organization's expertise with this type of work and a description of your facilities and resources; and (D) Specificreferences (including project identifier and description, period of performance, dollar amount, and client name and phone number) for previous work of this nature your organization is currently performing or has completed within the last three (3) years. REFERENCES WILL BE CHECKED. SUBMIT RESPONSES TO: Offerors shall submit their Capability Statement by 4:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time, 30 MAR 2000, in original and two (2) copies to Michael W. Hargrove, Contracting Officer, United States Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, 381 Elden Street, Mail Stop 2500, Herndon VA 20170-4817. Four (4) additional copies shall be submitted to Warren Horowitz, United States Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Alaska OCS Region, Environmental Studies Section, 949 East 36th Avenue, Anchorage AK 99508. Time of receipt of submissions will be determined by the time received in the Procurement Operations Branch, Herndon VA. CAPABILITY STAETMENTS WILL BE EVALUATED ON THE BASIS OF: (A) Experience and expertise of Key Personnel, which includes the Lead Technical Person responsible for the supervision of data collection, computer resources, organization and handling of information, and technical editing and production of documents. Evaluation factors include (1) the length and quality of experience for each person assigned to perform specific tasks; (2) the level and quality of formal education, as well as honors, awards, and recognition for previous work, in the disciplines and technical fields necessary; (3) experience on similar projects in the Alaska OCS or similar areas. (B) Ability to establish personal contacts with or working agreements between your company and data sources. (C) The Project Manager shall have (1) experience and demonstrated leadership ability required for the coordination of the study process; (2) experience in managing a multi-disciplinary team and the interdisciplinary processes required for this study; and (3) ability to control costs and keep project performance and document preparation on schedule. (D) Your organization's history of (1) successful completion of similar projects (similar in size, scope, complexity, duration, and dollar value); (2) producing high-quality documents; and (3) conducting similar projects on schedule and within budget. QUESTIONS should be FAXED to BOTH Michael W. Hargrove and Lane Donley at 703-787-1387directed or E-mail addressed to BOTH Michael.Hargrove@mms.gov and Lane.Donley@mms.gov. ALL CORRESPONDENCE MUST INCLUDE THE RFP NUMBER, YOUR FULL NAME, YOUR COMPANY NAME, ADDRESS, AND PHONE AND FACSIMLIE NUMBER. MMS STRONGLY DISCOURAGES TELEPHONE REQUESTS OR QUESTIONS. Posted 03/10/00 (W-SN433388). (0070)

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