Cleaning up an oil spill and restoring the environment boils down to the science. Scientists, data managers, and emergency responders from OR&R, the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) at the University of New Hampshire, U.S. Coast Guard, University of Michigan, Coastal Monitoring Associates, Water Mapping, Environmental Protection Agency, State of California, and the U.S. Navy partnered to advance oil spill science using the natural oil seeps off the coast of Santa Barbara as their ‘lab’. Their research is enhancing spill responders’ ability to respond to and assess the impacts of oil in the environment.