The University of Miami on Thursday broke ground on a $47 million complex at its marine school on Virginia Key that will feature a giant tank capable of simulating Category 5 hurricane storm surges.

The project, expected to be completed by late 2013, will include two connected buildings, one devoted to hurricane and climate research and the other to the study of marine life.

It will be the first new facility added to the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science in 30 years. Federal stimulus funding, in the form of a $15 million grant awarded in 2009 by the National Institute for Standards and Technology, is helping pay for the project.

The complex will include a 28,000-gallon tank — roughly the length of a bowling alley and about six lanes wide — that will help researchers study the interaction of hurricane winds and storm waves and analyze the impact of surge on coastal buildings. In addition to expanding coral and fisheries research, the complex will also house a breeding facility for sea hares, a slug whose simple nervous system makes it important in medical research.