Radiocarbon analysis

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Contract Opportunity

Radiocarbon analysis (14C) of sediment core samples

Notice of Intent

This is a notice of intent to solicit from a single source.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), intends to award a purchase order to UC Irvine, W.M. Keck Carbon Cycle Accelerator Mass Spectrometry facility for radiocarbon (14C) analyses of foraminifera and organic plant material samples from Cascadia sediment cores.

Award will be made in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.106-1(b) and the procedures at FAR Part 12 entitled, Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR Part 13 entitled, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. UC Irvine is, to the USGS' knowledge, the only source who is capable of processing samples as small as 15 μg of
carbon, and down to 5 micrograms for special cases. This is necessary for the work proposed here, as it can be difficult or impossible to obtain larger quantities of
carbon from the foraminifera-poor sediment in many of our sample locations, and inability to measure very small samples would prevent us from dating earthquake events in the late Holocene (last ~6000 years), a key component of our earthquake hazard assessment. If using laboratories that require larger sample size using conventional methods, with the smaller samples we submit, the laboratories are more susceptible to errors and produce less precise results.

The purpose of this notice is to satisfy the requirements of FAR Subpart 5.101(a)(1) and FAR 5.2. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotes. However, all responsible parties may submit a quotation by the closing date of this announcement which shall be considered by the agency. No solicitation will be issued. A determination not to compete this action based upon responses received is in the sole discretion of the Government.

The NAICS code for this action is 541380, Testing Laboratory.

Responses or inquiries shall only be accepted through electronic mail addressed to yangzhideng@usgs.gov and must be uploaded and received in their entirety no later than July 25, 2025 at 1700 PST.

Responses submitted by hardcopy or any web portal shall not be accepted or considered.

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