In 2023, a mud volcano erupted about 15 miles off the eastern coast of Azerbaijan. The fallout of this eruption of dirt, water, and gases created a brand-new “ghost” island in the Caspian Sea. Now, nearly 2 years later, that island is almost gone.
The landmass was named Chigil-Deniz. It formed in early 2023 when the Kumani Bank’s mud volcano erupted below the Earth’s surface, displacing all sorts of sediment and gases which formed a 1300-foot-wide island.
According to images brought to us by NASA’s Landsat 8 and 9 satellites, as of December 2024, that island has almost completely eroded away, consumed by the waters from which it came.
The Caspian Sea is filled with mud volcanoes. Sometimes they’re explosive, sometimes they’re not. Sometimes they just kind of ooze. When they do explode, though, they tend to leave behind temporary islands that are substantial enough to be visible from space.
This particular mud volcano has been active for about 150 years and geologists say there is evidence its previous eruptions also formed temporary islands. Back in 1950, one such eruption created an island over 2,300 feet wide. It, too, eventually faded away.
All told, the Kumani Bank mud volcano has erupted at least eight times since people started recording this kind of thing in 1861. As University of Adelaide geologist Mark Tingay explained, “ghost” islands or “peekaboo” islands are what geologists tend to call the islands formed in the wake of mud volcano eruptions.
The big difference between this temporary island caused by mud volcano eruptions and the many, many others that have appeared throughout history is that we now have satellite imagery to capture the island in its full glory before it fades.
Thank you for your service, ghost island off the coast of Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea. We’ll never forget you.
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