Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) Equipment

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Region Acquisitions Division-Kansas City office intends to award, on a sole source basis, under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), with Sea-Bird Electronics for the purchase of Sea-Bird Electronics replacement and back-up equipment for the Seabird SBE 911 Plus Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) Units currently in place at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in Miami, FL. A sources sought notice was posted to FedBizOpps on January 5, 2011 and closed on January 14,2011. No responses were received. The following replacement and back-up equipment is required: • SBE 4C CTD Conductivity Sensors are the primary sensors of the CTD used to measure conductivity • SBE 3Plus CTD Temperature Sensors used to measure temperature with a demonstrated drift of less than 0.001 °C during a six-month screening period and a time response of be 0.065 ± 0.010 seconds. • CTD Dissolved Oxygen Sensors used to measure oxygen • 24-Position Carousel Electronic/Release, hub assembly and bail assembly, which is a release latch assembly and integrated electronics module for a 24-bottle oceanographic carousel water sampler • Deck Unit for 911 Plus CTD supplies DC power to the CTD, decodes the serial data stream, and passes the data to a computer Sea-Bird Electronics is the only known vendor to provide replacement and back-up equipment that is compatible with the Seabird SBE 911 Plus CTD. To replace existing equipment with a brand other than Sea-Bird Electronics is not cost effective. The Seabird SBE911 Plus (CTD) is one of the primary tools used by AOML scientists for determining essential physical properties of sea water. It gives scientists a precise and comprehensive charting of the distribution and variation of water temperature, salinity and density that helps understand how the ocean affect life. The shipboard CTD is made up of a set of small sensors attached to a large metal rosette wheel. The rosette is lowered on a cable down to the seafloor, and scientists observe the water properties in real time via a conducting cable connecting the CTD to a deck unit that interfaces to a computer. Specifications of the SBE 911plus CTD: • Produces profiles of ocean temperature, salinity, and density at the highest possible absolute accuracy and high resolution sampling (around 24 Hz) • Interface temperature sensors that are both accurate and fast. The absolute resistance of the thermistor at the ice-point only changes by about 1 ohm/mk. • Has a drift of no more than .001 °C in six months • Has a response time of about .010 seconds and a measurement range of -5 to +35 °C • The conductivity sensor is electrically isolated to eliminate any possibility of noise and corrosion caused by ground loops. • Has a measurement range of 0.0 to 7.0 Siemens/meter (S/m) and a resolution of .00004 S/m • Equipped with a pump that is constantly providing a flow of water to the temperature and conductivity sensors so that they measure the same water • Equipped with a quartz pressure sensor and housing rated from 0 to 10,000 psia. • The resolution of the pressure sensor is 0.001% of full and have a typical stability of .018% of full scale per year • Interfaces to SBE's, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen sensors and pumps • Interfaces to a SBE 11plus V2 Deck Unit • Equipped with eight 12 bit A/D channels and a built-in NMEA 0183 interface to merge real-time GPS data with the CTD data