NASA Captures Ghost Islands Emergence And Disappearance In Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea has witnessed a bizarre phenomenon. A temporary island formed off the coast of Azerbaijan and disappeared, all within a couple of years. The island, created by a mud volcano eruption, was first spotted in early 2023, and its rapid emergence and disappearance have left both scientists and satellite observers intrigued.

NASA's Earth Observatory reported the “ghost” island's appearance due to an eruption from the Kumani Bank mud volcano, around 25 kilometres offshore from Azerbaijan's eastern coast. This eruption, which occurred between January 30 and February 4, 2023, was just one of many recorded events from Kumani Bank. The volcano has a long history of producing such transient landmasses, with previous eruptions dating back to 1861.

NASA's Landsat 8 and 9 satellites monitored the Earth's surface and captured imagery of the island's brief existence. The satellite images, taken between November 18, 2022, and December 25, 2024, show how the island emerged from the sea and eroded over two years. By the end of 2024, only a small portion of the Kumani Bank was visible above the water.

The island, measuring around 400 metres, was a temporary landmass created by the expulsion of mud and other materials during the volcanic eruption. Mark Tingay, a geologist from the University of Adelaide, said the island's size was estimated to be around 1,300 feet wide at its peak. The landmass quickly eroded, vanishing almost entirely by the end of 2024.

Mud volcanoes like Kumani Bank are known to be volatile, and capable of releasing large amounts of material, including flames, in a very short period. These eruptions are often hazardous, but also fascinating, as they shape the landscape in unexpected ways. According to Tingay, mud volcanoes are “weird and wonderful features that remain largely understudied and little understood.”

Azerbaijan is home to more than 300 mud volcanoes, both on land and offshore in the Caspian Sea, NASA's Earth Observatory stated.

Kumani Bank's behaviour is not unique. Similar volcanic eruptions have been observed at the site in the past. Historically, eruptions here have lasted less than two days, generating islands of various sizes. The smallest recorded formation, from May 1861, measured just 87 metres across and eroded by early 1862. In contrast, a much larger eruption in 1950 produced an island that stretched 700 metres across, standing six metres above sea level before eroding.