A17_J_A_Final_Redacted_1.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR ACQUISITION UNDER THE

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

PR 0040544446

1. Contracting Agency and Activity. The Department of the Interior, United States Geological

Survey, plans to contract on a sole source basis. This document sets forth the justification and approval as required by FAR 13.106-1(b)(1).

2. Nature of Action Being Approved. This is an acquisition of services for

Optically Simulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of sediments from the Cape Cod National

Seashore, to Utah State University Luminescence Laboratory (USULL) for one year.

3. Description of Supplies or Services.

This contract will provide for enhanced and rapid OSL dating of Quaternary sediment samples from Massachusetts in order to calibrate the geochronology of glacial and interglacial deposits/events for the new USGS Quaternary Geologic Map of Massachusetts. This work is in cooperation with the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Required services under this contract include: 1) field evaluation (with USGS scientists) of sample sites and stratigraphic relationships of late Quaternary surficial deposits in localities of critical age needs in Massachusetts, 2) collection of “light-tight” sediment samples for analysis,

3) laboratory preparation of “light-tight” samples, and OSL analysis of multiple and single-grain samples, 4) collaboration with the USGS OSL Laboratory Director, who will supply dose-rate values of elemental concentrations and rate of disequilibrium within the U:Th decay chain radiation from field samples, 5) calculation of equivalent doses and most accurate age of samples by multiple or single-grain methods using standard and new OSL techniques based on central tendency- or minimum-aliquot age models, 6) evaluation of dating results, which commonly include variable errors resulting from inhomogeneous populations of luminescent mineral grains

(i.e. beta dose heterogeneity), incomplete bleaching of grains prior to deposition, bioturbation, or other less common post-depositional processes, 7) modification of inaccurate ages by use of discriminating statistics and radial or probability plots of equivalent dose values. These modifications will also include an expert analysis of the precision of such plots to identify the most probable sample population that yields the last depositional date or depositional time of interest. Services will be provided to the Luminescence Geochronology Lab, funded chiefly by

National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, in cooperation with the Great Lakes Geologic

Mapping Coalition.

4. Estimated Dollar Value. The estimated dollar value of this service is based on a one-year sample production schedule in 2021, with full completion of samples by FY2022. Due to the high demand for services from a small community of OSL laboratories, a maximum of 10 samples will be processed. The total charge for each sample is Because the length of time required for each sample would utilize too much production time in any one laboratory, it is proposed that USULL will collaborate with the USGS lab to complete the submission of samples. The total dollar value of services provided by USULL will not exceed

5. Statutory Authority. The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis in accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b)(1).

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

PR 0040544446

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5.

Research into potential sources to provide the required services found a very limited set of potential suppliers, and that the majority of these OSL laboratories had full production schedules through the proposed period of performance, did not have experience working with USGS, or did not express interest in working with USGS.

Market research results identified 19 university-affiliated and 1 commercial OSL laboratory in

North America.

• Inquiries indicated that the commercial OSL lab is tied to research facilities in Japan and is presently unable to fulfill dating contracts. In addition, the protocols and measurements of analyses by this lab may be of sub-standard quality.

• Scientific reports show that the other OSL labs are generally closely-affiliated with their academic institutions and are primarily driven by local research goals. Production schedules in these labs are already filled with in-house samples.

• OSL research scientists in other labs generally are authors/coauthors on all reports, indicative of their personal research interests.

• A review of the literature as well as personal communications indicate that OSL dating services are rarely purchased as independent services by other researchers.

• Some OSL labs and researchers do not have experience in extensive collaborative work with USGS projects or the USGS OSL lab; others have not expressed interest in pursuing new research topics such as the USGS project work in the glacial geology of

Massachusetts.

USGS has successfully collaborated with one OSL laboratory source, USULL, in the past on a number of projects, and this single source has agreed to complete the collaborative work required in the proposed period of performance.

USULL is deemed the only source reasonably available to be able to accomplish the requirements based on the market research performed.

7. Other Information.

This procurement establishes a Base year and one-time demonstration of tasks. These results demonstrate that through collaboration, such that if this award were made to another source, the project would have to establish the professional interests of other OSL researchers in QSFM project goals. The same collaborative study and OSL-age refinement analyses would have to be conducted before full production of all OSL samples could proceed. This delay would extend

OSL dating beyond the QSFM project schedule and beyond any reasonable programmatic schedule for completion of the geologic map databases. This delay likely would extend beyond the careers of the lab directors.

8. The Efforts to Identify Additional Sources Including the Market Research Conducted.

Market research for competitive sources to provide the required services was conducted. A total of 20 laboratories capable of potentially providing the OSL services in North America were identified.

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

PR 0040544446

19 of the 20 laboratories are university-affiliated, and 1 is commercial. Conclusions about the quality, availability, and interest of each of these laboratories are provided in section 6 above.

These conclusions were made based on reviews of OSL research papers in the scientific literature, online searches, inquiries with the USGS Luminescence Dating Lab director’s professional contacts at other OSL laboratories, and discussions with the USGS Luminescence

Dating Lab director.

The Contracting Officer issued a Source Sought notice for three business days with no responses received.

9. Future Plans to Permit Competition.

This non-competitive procurement likely will produce additional accurate ages of deposits, based on comparative results in the QSFM project using varve chronology, radiocarbon chronology, Be-10 exposure ages, and glacial events/process rates in northeastern U.S. By devising sampling protocols, sample preparation techniques, and effective exposure-probability analysis for OSL dating of fluvial, marine, and glacial sediments, this project procurement assists other OSL researchers to expand their interests to these complex deposits and stratigraphic successions.

This acquisition is the final step in a data report and analyses on the Cape Cod sediment samples.

It concludes work begun in 2014, reported in 2016, and renewed in 2019. No further work of this scope is anticipated in the Cape Cod area.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) considers employee signatures to be Personal Protected Information, and therefore all employee signatures have been redacted. By posting this document, the Contracting Officer attests all appropriate signatures have been obtained.