Last April, we were all very aware of the major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. There were a variety of tools released to help track the spill, including aerial imagery, visualization tools, EPA data and much more.

However, now that the leak has been stopped for a while, people are turning their attention elsewhere. That’s where Mission Blue comes in. Their primary goal is to “raise public awareness and move people to help protect this vital natural resource”, and in this case they’re working to “identify areas with potential for Gulf ecosystem recovery”.

Because the impact of the oil spill is still under debate, they’re out on an expedition into the Gulf to see how the area is recovering from the spill. While they’re out there, information and videos are being shared as often as possible.

If you have the “Places” layer turned on in Google Earth, you can click the blue ship icon just outside of Pensacola, Florida. Alternatively, you can simply download this KML file to view the expedition. Through the KML you’ll find photos, videos, updates and links to updates on the National Geographic Mission Blue blog here.