We thank the officers, crew, and shipboard scientific party for excellent support during RV SONNE cruises SO143 and SO148. Tina Treude helped with sampling on board, Julia Polansky is acknowledged for assistance with FISH, Sabine Schäfer for total cell counts, Tina Lösekann and Heiko Löbner for sulfate reduction rates, Doris Setzkorn for thymidine incorporation, and Dirk Rickert for sulfate and porosity data. We thank Beth Orcutt and the two reviewers for their extremely helpful comments on the manuscript. This study was part of the programs MUMM (Mikrobielle UMsatzraten von Methan in gashydrathaltigen Sedimenten, 03G0554A) and TECFLUX I and II (TECtonically induced FLUXes, 03G0148A) supported by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF, Germany). Further support was provided from the Max-Planck Society, Germany. This is publication GEOTECH-17 of the program GEOTECHNOLOGIEN of the BMBF and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Germany).

The pseudocolonial coral Lophelia pertusa (Scleractinia, Caryophylliidae) is a eurybathic, stenothermal cosmopolitan cold-water species. It occurs in two color varieties, white and red. L. pertusa builds vast cold-water coral reefs along the continental margins, which are among the most diverse deep-sea habitats. Microbiology of L. pertusa has been in scientific focus for only a few years, but the question of whether the coral holds a host-specific bacterial community has not been finally answered. Bacteria on coral samples from the Trondheimsfjord (Norway) were characterized by the culture-independent 16S rRNA gene-based techniques terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequence analysis. L. pertusa revealed a high microbial richness. Clone sequences were dominated by members of the Alpha-and Gammaproteobacteria. Other abundant taxa were Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Firmicutes, and Planctomycetes. The bacterial community of L. pertusa not only differed conspicuously from that of the environment but also varied with both the location and color variety of its host. Therefore, the microbial colonization cannot be termed "specific" sensu stricto. However, similarities to other coral-bacterium associations suggest the existence of "cold-water coral-specific" bacterial groups sensu lato. L. pertusa-associated bacteria appear to play a significant role in the nutrition of their host by degradation of sulfur compounds, cellulose, chitin, and end products of the coral's anaerobic metabolism. Some coral-associated microbes were regarded as opportunistic pathogens. Dominance of mixotrophic members of the Rhodobacteraceae in white L. pertusa could explain the wider dispersal of this phenotype by supplementary nutrition.

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Antarctic and Southern Ocean science is vital to understanding natural variability, the processes that govern global change and the role of humans in the Earth and climate system. The potential for new knowledge to be gained from future Antarctic science is substantial. Therefore, the international Antarctic community came together to 'scan the horizon' to identify the highest priority scientific questions that researchers should aspire to answer in the next two decades and beyond. Wide consultation was a fundamental principle for the development of a collective, international view of the most important future directions in Antarctic science. From the many possibilities, the horizon scan identified 80 key scientific questions through structured debate, discussion, revision and voting. Questions were clustered into seven topics: i) Antarctic atmosphere and global connections, ii) Southern Ocean and sea ice in a warming world, iii) ice sheet and sea level, iv) the dynamic Earth, v) life on the precipice, vi) near-Earth space and beyond, and vii) human presence in Antarctica. Answering the questions identified by the horizon scan will require innovative experimental designs, novel applications of technology, invention of next-generation field and laboratory approaches, and expanded observing systems and networks. Unbiased, non-contaminating procedures will be required to retrieve the requisite air, biota, sediment, rock, ice and water samples. Sustained year-round access to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean will be essential to increase winter-time measurements. Improved models are needed that represent Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in the Earth System, and provide predictions at spatial and temporal resolutions useful for decision making. A co-ordinated portfolio of cross-disciplinary science, based on new models of international collaboration, will be essential as no scientist, programme or nation can realize these aspirations alone.

Nitrogen fixation supports new production in the oligotrophic oceans and removes dinitrogen and carbon dioxide from mixed layer waters. N‐fixation rates have been estimated in various ways but measurements are still too rare and factors limiting N‐fixation are not yet fully understood. Here we present data from a transect along 10°N through the tropical Atlantic on the Meteor Cruise 55 where N‐fixation rates between 3.7 and 255 μmol N*m−2*d−1 were recorded. The highest rates occurred off Africa in the eastern tropical North Atlantic (ETNA), and in the Amazon River plume in the West and contributed to 1–12.2% of the N‐demand of primary production. N‐fixation rates correlated with dissolved Fe concentrations, which were 20–280 times greater than the estimated demand. High atmospheric Fe inputs combined with the shallow nutricline make the ETNA a favourable environment for N‐fixers.

We present in situ biophysical measurements and bioassay experiments that demonstrate iron limitation of primary productivity during the spring bloom in the central North Atlantic. Mass balance calculations indicate that nitrate drawdown is iron (Fe)-limited and that aeolian Fe supply to this region cannot support maximal phytoplankton growth during the bloom. Using a simple simulation model, we show that relief of Fe limitation during the spring bloom can increase nitrate drawdown and, hence, new primary production, by 70%. We conclude that the episodic nature of iron supplied by dust deposition is an important factor controlling the dynamics of the spring bloom. From this, we hypothesize that variability in the timing and magnitude of the spring bloom in response to aeolian Fe supply will affect carbon drawdown and food web dynamics in the central North Atlantic.