FP934-190025/A - Argo Free Drifting Profiling Floats (FP934-190025/A)

Trade Agreement: CETA / WTO-AGP / CPTPP / NAFTA / CFTA / FTAs with Peru / Colombia / Panama / Korea Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid Competitive Procurement Strategy: Lowest/Lower Bid Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No Nature of Requirements:

Argo Free Drifting Profiling Floats

FP934-190025/A Lamothe, Brenda Telephone No. - (613) 818-1277

Notice of Proposed Procurement

Nature of Requirements for the Request for Standing Offer (RFSO)

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has a requirement to procure a number of Argo free-drifting profiling floats. Additional optional users are the Department of National Defence and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) intends to put in place a three (3) year National Master Standing Offer (NMSO), to procure the required equipment.

The objective is to provide Argo profiling floats to support the Government of Canada contribution to the International Argo Program, which is a key element of the Global Ocean Observing System.

Background

The broad-scale global array of temperature/salinity profiling floats, known as Argo, is a major component of the ocean observing system. Argo is a standard to which other developing ocean observing systems can look to for ideas as it was designed from the outset to function as a global network. Argo exemplifies international collaboration, with 26 nations contributing floats (2019) and a data management system that delivers consistent quality controlled data streams to the global data center. Global deployments began in 2000 and continue today at the rate of about 800 to 1000 per year, with Canada contributing about 20-40 floats per year. The vendor shall supply Argo floats to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) facilities in Dartmouth, NS and Sidney, BC.

Program objectives:

1. Argo provides a quantitative description of the changing state of the upper ocean and the patterns of ocean climate variability from months to decades, including heat and freshwater storage and their transport. 2. Argo data enhance the value of the Jason altimeter through measurement of subsurface temperature, salinity, and velocity, with sufficient coverage and resolution to permit interpretation of altimetric sea surface height variability. 3. Argo data are being used to initialize ocean and coupled ocean-atmosphere forecast models, for data assimilation and for model testing.

4. A primary focus of Argo is to document seasonal to decadal climate variability and to aid our understanding of its predictability. A wide range of applications for high-quality global ocean analyses is anticipated.

Configurations

The list of the five (5) Configurations are:

Configuration 1: Float equipped with CTD sensor to support the objectives of the Core Argo program.

Configuration 2: Float equipped with CTD and DO sensors to support the objectives of the Core and BGC

Argo programs.

Configuration 3: Float equipped with CTD, DO and pH sensors to support the objectives of the Core and

BGC Argo programs.

Configuration 4: Float equipped with CTD, DO, pH, Chla and backscatter sensors to support the

objectives of the Core and BGC Argo programs.

Configuration 5: Float equipped with CTD, DO, Chla and backscatter sensors to support the objectives of

the Core and BGC Argo programs.

The requirement is subject to the provisions of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA).

Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement does not apply as delivery is not within a Land Claim Area.

The sourcing strategy to this procurement is that all interested suppliers may submit a bid.

Offerors to be considered compliant must meet all the Mandatory Requirements of the Request for Standing Offer.

The lowest priced compliant proposal will be recommended for award.

Canada retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.

Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.