VICTORIA - The Province is providing close to $1 million for a sea floor laboratory that will help researchers study important environmental issues such as climate change, earthquakes, fish conservation and energy sources, announced Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell today.

"This government is committed to becoming a world leader in sustainable environmental management, as outlined in the throne speech," said Coell. "Ocean temperatures have a significant impact on global warming, and research like this will help government to create policy that protects our environment."

The University of Victoria Ocean Technology Test Bed (OTTB) will allow engineers to develop and test underwater vehicles, plus advanced navigation and underwater communication systems. Scientists will be able to respond to events like plankton blooms, fish migrations, earthquakes, tsunamis or underwater volcanic eruptions in real-time - free from the limitations of ship schedules, bad weather, and intermittent data.

"The OTTB will further enhance UVic's position as a leader in research and technology development for ocean study and will provide rich training opportunities for the next generation of scientists and engineers," said UVic president David Turpin.

"The test bed will be a first-of-a-kind," said mechanical engineering professor Colin Bradley, who will develop the test bed. "The laboratory will offer engineering research opportunities that don't exist anywhere else, and allow collaborative work from any location across the country or around the world."

The test bed will be interactive with other UVic-led ocean observatories on the west coast, including the VENUS (Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea) and NEPTUNE Canada (The North-East Pacific Time-series Undersea Networked Experiments). The laboratory will be located in the Saanich inlet near Sidney and construction is expected to begin by May 2008.

Since 2001, a total of 487 projects and over $288 million in funding have been approved by the provincial government under the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund. This funding has leveraged $311 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and another $250 million from other non-provincial government sources, for a total investment in British Columbia's research infrastructure of almost $850 million.