Since the first Deep-Water Circulation Congress: Processes and Products, organized in Baiona, Spain (16-18 June, 2010), a major milestone in contourite research was passed with the execution of IODP Expedition 339, drilling the Cádiz Contourite Depositional System. Also, this congress has laid the base for renewed collaborations, international partnerships and a number of topical publications. In this new year, where the Marine Geology journal will celebrate its 50th anniversary, we can celebrate as well the first seminal paper on deep-sea currents, published by Heezen and Hollister in the first volume (2nd issue) of Marine Geology. Since then, a tremendous effort has been realized by numerous marine scientists to be able to better understand the story locked within the contouritic sequences. This is why the 2nd Deep-Water Circulation Congress aims to focus within these three days on the 'Contourite Log-book', with the intention to increase our ability to unveil and extract the temporal and lateral variability of palaeoceanographic processes.