Island of mystery: The Caspian Sea's disappearing act
A mysterious island suddenly emerged on the surface of the Caspian Sea, only to disappear again in less than two years. Experts noticed it thanks to images provided by NASA.
Science Alert reports that the island appeared in January 2023 at the summit of the Kumani mud volcano, about 19 kilometres from the coast of Azerbaijan. Thanks to NASA's satellite pictures, taken as part of the Landsat program—which regularly provides images of Earth from space using nine satellites—its brief existence was documented from its formation to almost complete disappearance by the end of 2024.
An island that regularly disappears
The history of this disappearing island dates back to the 19th century. Its first documented appearance occurred in May 1861, but the land had disappeared by the following year. In the 20th century, the island formed at least six times but never lasted more than two years. Its formation is linked to eruptions of the Kumani mud volcano, often accompanied by spectacular fire bursts reminiscent of oil rig explosions. However, this time, in 2023, the island emerged calmly.
Geophysicist Mark Tingay, keenly interested in mud volcanoes, identified the phenomenon while analyzing satellite images. In November 2024, he shared on the Threads platform that a new island had unexpectedly formed the previous year and expressed surprise that it went unnoticed.
Science Alert points out that despite the availability of advanced technology and rapid information flow, there were no official reports about the island in 2023. A similar event occurred in 1993, also without much publicity. It wasn't until January 10, 2025, at around 7:00 PM Eastern Time, when NASA highlighted the "ghost island" as the image of the day, that attention was drawn to the phenomenon again.
The island that emerged near the Kumani Bank mud volcano is not an isolated case. At the end of 2023, a new, small island also appeared off the coast of Japan. Japanese experts reported at the time that it is part of the Ogasawara Islands, and its formation is due to the eruption of an underwater volcano. It is worth noting, however, that most islands formed by underwater volcanic activity disappear quickly, although there are exceptions.
