Inactive

COSMOGENIC NUCLIDE ANALYSIS This requirement is for Cosmogenic Nuclide Analysis In accordance with its mission to understand the geologic hazards of the United States, the United States Governmental S... COSMOGENIC NUCLIDE ANALYSIS This requirement is for Cosmogenic Nuclide Analysis In accordance with its mission to understand the geologic hazards of the United States, the United States Governmental Survey (USGS) is often tasked with understanding the history and pacing of hazardous events by dating motion on faults, and the emplacement of mass wasting and debris flow/flood deposits. Over historic timescales the hazards recorded by these geologic features produce earthquakes, landslides and floods that damage infrastructure and endanger the safety of the public. Over geologic timescales the same geologic features record a long history containing many hazardous events that provide a more complete view of the rates and potential magnitude of risk for a given area. Defining the age of these geologic features is key to understanding this long-term risk but requires sophisticated radiometric dating techniques to discern with accuracy. The USGS anticipates awarding an IDIQ contract with a base year and 4 options years. The base year period of performance will be from May 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021 with four one-year option periods, ending April 30, 2025. Please quote the extended 6 month period in accordance with 52.218-8. The solicitation number is: (Sol 140G0220Q0071). No hard copies of the solicitation will be available. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for this project is 541380. The services/supplies described herein are Commercial Item. This requirement is not set-aside for small business. Telephone request for the RFQ will not be accepted QUOTATION PREPARATION Each vendor is cautioned to study the Evaluation Factors stated above along with their relative importance. Your quotation package shall address each of these factors since these are the standards against which your quotation will be evaluated. It is the vendor's responsibility to include the appropriate documentation in its quotation package to allow a complete technical/price evaluation. Vendor shall provide their Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS) number. Failure to submit the appropriate documentation may result in the rejection of the vendor's quotation. QUESTION CUTOFF Questions relating to this Solicitation shall be presented by e-mail to cjcarter@usgs.gov not later than close of business 12:00 P.M. MT on April 25, 2020. Questions should be worded to avoid disclosing bid strategies or proprietary solutions. The Government will evaluate the questions, and if needed, an Amendment will be issued with the questions received and their associated answers. If further questions arise following the outcome of answers provided to initial questions, the Contracting Officer has sole discretion to determine if a new question closing date will be required. If a new question closing date is approved, an amendment will be posted. 10.0 QUOTATION SUBMISSION Quotes are required to be received in the contracting office no later than 5:00 P.M. MT on April 30, 2020. Quotes are required to be submitted electronically via email to cjcarter@usgs.gov.

Inactive

COSMOGENIC NUCLIDE ANALYSIS SOURCES SOUGHT: The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a MARKET SURVEY to determine the interest and capability of any firm eligible to compete under NAICS code 541380 wi... COSMOGENIC NUCLIDE ANALYSIS SOURCES SOUGHT: The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a MARKET SURVEY to determine the interest and capability of any firm eligible to compete under NAICS code 541380 with a Small Business Size Standard $16.50 M for an upcoming requirement for the USGS Geoscience and Environmental Change Science Center (GECSC)in Denver, CO to provide Cosmogenic Nuclide analysis. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. ALL COST ASSOCIATED WITH PROVIDING INFORMATION AS REQUESTED BY THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE SHALL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CONTRACTOR. Submission is voluntary. This requirement is for Cosmogenic Nuclide analysis. In accordance with its mission to understand the geologic hazards of the United States, the USGS is often tasked with understanding the history and pacing of hazardous events by dating motion on faults, and the emplacement of mass wasting and debris flow/flood deposits. Over historic timescales the hazards recorded by these geologic features produce earthquakes, landslides and floods that damage infrastructure and endanger the safety of the public. Over geologic timescales the same geologic features record a long history containing many hazardous events that provide a more complete view of the rates and potential magnitude of risk for a given area. Defining the age of these geologic features is key to understanding this long-term risk but requires sophisticated radiometric dating techniques to discern with accuracy. Cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating is one of the best techniques for defining the ages of these types of deposits because it dates the exposure and/or burial of common minerals derived directly from the deposits of interest to cosmic radiation at the Earth¿s surface. This quite effectively provides an age for the rapid emplacement and stabilization of sedimentary deposits like moraines, landslides, and debris flows, and the scarps of faults that cut them. The ability to apply this technique to a wide range of deposits caused by geohazards, over a range of hundreds to millions of years makes it a key tool to defining accurate geohazard histories and rates that inform risk anywhere in the nation. The most commonly applied cosmogenic nuclides are the isotopes beryllium-10 (10Be) and aluminum-26 (26Al) measured in the mineral quartz. These nuclides are advantageous because 1) quartz is the most abundant rock forming mineral and is therefore available in most locations; 2) 10Be and 26Al have fast rates of buildup in quartz (~4 and ~26 atoms per gram per year, respectively) and 3) slow rates of radioactive decay; so that they can be applied over both short and long timescales. Critically, measuring the ratio of 10Be and 26Al in deeply buried sediments allows calculation of the ages of geologically important deposits that are no longer at the surface, which can greatly extend the geohazard records of interest. Therefore, the ability to accurately measure both isotopes in quartz by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) is highly important. Cosmogenic nuclide dating typically involves 6 laboratory steps: 1. Mechanical cleaning and crushing rock hand samples collected in the field. 2. Density, magnetic and/or chemical techniques for separation of mineral phases to isolate and purify quartz. 3. Dissolution and isotopic spiking of individual quartz aliquots for each sample, followed by separation of pure beryllium and aluminum using ion exchange column chemistry. 4. Elemental analysis of native non-cosmogenic beryllium and aluminum by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry or similar techniques to determine non-cosmogenic contribution to quartz chemistry. 5. Pressing of pure beryllium and aluminum oxide separates into cathode targets followed by measurement of beryllium and aluminum isotope ratios by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. 6. Assimilation and reduction of the data generated in the previous steps to generate an age for each sample from the concentrations of cosmogenic isotopes in quartz and application of physically/geologically calibrated nuclide production rate scaling models for the Earth. A scope of work will be provided with any solicitation that may be issued. The Government is not required to issue a solicitation. Responses to this announcement are requested from Small Businesses. In response to this announcement, please indicate your firm's socioeconomic status (e.g. small business, service-disabled veteran-owned, women owned, HUBZone, etc.) This information will assist the Government in determining how small businesses can fit into the acquisition strategy. A firm is considered small under NAICS code 541380 if their AVERAGE annual receipts for the preceding three (3) years were less than or equal to $16.5 million. Any information submitted is voluntary. If enough interest and capability is not received from small business firms, any solicitation may be issued as unrestricted without further consideration. There will be no subcontracting of analytical work under this contract. Small business firms who feel they can provide the analysis shall also submit (1) NAME, ADDRESS, and PHONE NUMBER OF THE FIRM, DUNS NUMBER; and (2) their SIZE STATUS. Your company must have a DUNs number and be registered on-line at SAM.gov. (System for Award Management) All responses must be submitted NLT March 5, 2020 at 3:00pm MST via e-mail to: cjcarter@usgs.gov. This is NOT a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Invitation for Bid (IFB) and does not constitute any commitment by the Government. Responses to this source sought notice will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. All interested sources must respond to future solicitation announcements separately from responses to this market survey. Any solicitation that may be issued will be posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website and no paper copies will be provided.