UKSBSRE150629 - Oxygen Enabled Floats for Argo Project

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), through its centre/survey the National Ocenaographic Centre (NOC), invites tenders for the supply of Oxygen Enabled Floats fo UK Argo. The UK Argo program will procure a batch of floats equipped with dissolved oxygen sensors.

For the purposes of planning delivery deadlines, we anticipate ordering approximately 7 floats Essential 1) Delivery for floats to be received into NERC procurement system before the end of the UK Financial Year on 31 March 2016. 2) Floats must be capable of executing a standard Argo mission cycle of profiles to 2000 dbar 3) Floats must have dissolved oxygen sensors (Aanderaa 4330 OR SBE63 ODO) 4) Please provide details as to the battery type, battery pack configuration and nominal storage energy in kJ. Where applicable manufacturer to provide details for floats with Alkaline batteries, allowing user to upgrade to Lithium batteries after delivery, to extend float lifetime. 5) Please provide details on the number of float cycles achievable with indicated stored energy. 6) Please provide details of the warranty being offered.

The Warranty shall quote schedule of credit for floats that fail to reach 100, 125, 150 cycles. Supplier may specify example mission parameters that would achieve those lifetimes, including number of levels sampled, and mode of CTD sampling (eg spot sampling or CP).

Note: The evaluation will consider the ‘cost per guaranteed cycle’ across the batch of floats, as well as the initial purchase price of each float. Other 1) The float needs to make measurements of oxygen in air at the end of each profile. Please state how many surface oxygen samples will be measured suitable for sensor calibration. 2) Please propose details on the number of depths sampled and telemetered ashore for a 2000m profile that would enable the float to achieve the performance 3) Please state depth of shallowest level sampled and best available near-surface resolution.