Ritter Island (VIDEO) Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) This video is under embargo. Please login to access this video. Caption The flanks of many island volcanoes such as Mount Etna or Mount Kilauea slide very slowly towards the sea. Whether these landslides are forewarnings of a catastrophic collapse or, on the contrary, even reduce its risk, is not yet understood. Geophysicists from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel have now published a study in the international journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, which shows that sporadic, slow landslides on the small volcanic island of Ritter Island in New Guinea preceded a catastrophic collapse. The study is based on an expedition with RV SONNE to Ritter Island in 2016. Credit Filming: Christian Berndt/GEOMAR, editing: Natalie Adler/GEOMAR Usage Restrictions The usage of the image material provided with this press release is free for editorial purposes. The image source must be named. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.