© Asad Photo Maldives/Pexels
It was in the vast blue of the Caspian Sea that NASA satellites documented a very intriguing geological event. In early 2023, a new land surface emerged from the waves, the result of the whims of an underwater mud volcano, before gradually disappearing from nautical charts by the end of 2024. How is this possible ?
Approximate position of “ghost island”. © Screenshot/Google Maps
The mysterious cycles of the Kumani Bank
About 25 km off the eastern coast of the 8217;Azerbaijan is located the Kumani Bank, also known as Chigil-Deniz, a mud volcano whose eruptive history dates back to 1861. Unlike classic volcanoes that expel molten lava, mud volcanoes Mud is the result of intense pressure exerted on water-saturated sediments in the deep layers of the seabed. Under the effect of this pressure, these sediments are propelled towards the surface, creating temporary geological structures.
NASA's Landsat 8 and 9 satellites have precisely mapped the life cycle of its last period of activity. As of November 2022, the volcano's summit still remained beneath the sea surface. Then, between January 30 and February 4, 2023, as analyzed by Professor Mark Tingay of the University of Adelaide, an island about 400 meters in diameter emerged from the waves.
This formation was accompanied by a plume of sediment, a characteristic signature of the expulsion of muddy material under pressure. Satellite observation then revealed the slow erosion of this ephemeral structure until its near-disappearance at the end of 2024.
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Satellite images of the volcano. From left to right: November 18, 2022, February 14, 2023, and finally, December 25, 2024, where the land is disappearing. © NASA
Azerbaijan, land of mud volcanoes
The exceptional concentration of mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan makes this region a unique place to study them. More than 300 such formations have been recorded in the eastern part of the country and off its coast, in the Caspian Sea. This peculiarity is explained by the geographical position of the territory, located in a zone of convergence between the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
Historical archives report several ” appearances » of Kumani Bank. In May 1861, an eruption created a small island 87 meters in diameter, rising 3.5 meters above sea level, which evaporated into the waves by early 1862. The most powerful eruption, in 1950, created a much larger island, 700 meters in diameter and rising 6 meters above sea level.
These geological manifestations, described as ’ strange and marvelous » by Professor Tingay, paradoxically remain little studied despite their spectacular character. This is explained in several ways: difficult accessibility, ephemeral nature, sometimes excessive costs of geological studies and the complexity of the phenomenon itself.
- In 2023, an underwater mud volcano in the Caspian Sea formed an ephemeral island that dissolved by the end of 2024.
- These temporary structures are the result of sediments pushed together by extreme pressure, creating unique but fragile formations.
- Azerbaijan, with its high concentration of mud volcanoes, is a key region for understanding these still little-explored phenomena.
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