In early 2023, a “ghost” island quietly emerged from the waters of the Caspian Seaas if it were a natural magic trick. Now, almost two years later, it is disappearing with the same discretion with which it arrived. This phenomenon, captured by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) and the OLI-2 of the Landsat 8 and 9 satellites from NASA, It is not a coincidence nor an unsolved mystery, but is the result of the activity of a peculiar underwater mud volcano.
The person responsible for this appearance is the mud volcano of Kumani Bank, also known as Chigil-Deniz, located about 25 kilometers off the eastern coast of Azerbaijan. According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, satellite images document this peculiar metamorphosis: In November 2022, the volcano remained hidden under water; by mid-February 2023, an island had emerged approximately 400 meters in diameter, leaving behind a trail of sediments; and by the end of 2024, only a small portion remained visible above the surface.
An island that appeared without witnesses
The most surprising thing about this phenomenon, according to the geophysicist Mark Tingay from the University of Adelaide in Threads, is that the appearance of the island went practically unnoticed.
“In the current information age, it is incredible that an island can appear just 20 kilometers from the coast without anyone saying anything about it,” said the expert.
This is not the first time that the Kumani Bank performs his disappearing act. Since its first documented eruption in 1861, it has created and destroyed islands on at least eight occasions.
He NASA Earth Observatory records that the first documented island measured only 87 meters in diameter and rose 3.5 meters above sea level, eroding completely in early 1862. The most spectacular eruption occurred in 1950, when it created an island 700 meters in diameter and 6 meters high.
Mud volcanoes in the Caspian Sea
These eruptions are not simple earth movements. The phenomenon is due to the peculiar geology of Azerbaijan, a region that is home to more than 300 mud volcanoes, most on land.
This high concentration is explained by its location in a convergence zone between the tectonic plates Arabian and Eurasian. The region’s mud volcanoes are linked to the hydrocarbon system of the southern Caspian basin, and their eruptions are often characterized by expulsions of flammable gases such as methane. Although it is not confirmed whether the 2023 eruption was fiery, previous eruptions They have produced columns of fire that rose hundreds of meters.
The phenomenon is so unique that it has even caught the attention of scientists who study Mars: Similar structures found in northern lowlands of the red planet They could have formed through similar processes, when sediments rich in gases and liquids emerged to the surface.
Mud volcanoes are “strange and wonderful phenomena little studied and understood,” Tingay concluded.
