A strange island surfaced suddenly in the Caspian Sea in early 2023, only to disappear again within two years. Known as the “ghost island,” this fleeting landmass has baffled scientists, appearing and vanishing without warning.
NASA satellite images captured the island’s emergence between January and February 2023 near the coast of Azerbaijan. By late 2024, only a small remnant of the landmass remained, and it may have already sunk beneath the waves.
Created by an underwater mud volcano
The island forms at the tip of the Kumani mud volcano, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Azerbaijan’s mainland. Mud volcanoes are geological formations that release gas and mud during eruptions.
Occasionally, these eruptions push enough material above the surface to create temporary islands. However, such landmasses rarely last more than two years before submerging again.
The ghost island was first documented in 1861, disappearing just one year later. Historical records show it resurfaced at least six times during the 20th century, typically following the same short-lived pattern.
No dramatic eruptions this time
Mud volcano eruptions are often dramatic, marked by fiery explosions that can be mistaken for oil rig disasters. However, the island’s reappearance in 2023 was unusually quiet. No fireballs or dramatic activity accompanied the event.
“A new island suddenly appeared last year, which is amazing,” wrote Mark Tingay, a geophysicist and mud volcano specialist, on Threads in November 2024. “But what is even more amazing is that nobody seemed to notice!”
A hidden mystery revealed by satellites
Tingay explained that there were no official reports of the island’s reemergence in 2023. Instead, its presence was only identified through satellite images.
While studying Azerbaijan’s mud volcanoes, Tingay noticed the island’s return but found no mentions of it in local or international news, social media, or online searches in Azerbaijani, Russian, or English.
Similar event in 1993
A similar event occurred in 1993 when the volcano formed another temporary island without the usual fiery spectacle. That event also went unreported, though satellite images confirmed its presence at the time.
“In this current information age, where everyone is so instantly connected, it is also rather incredible that an island can pop up just 20km off the coast and no one even says anything about it!” Tingay added.
The mystery of the ghost island highlights the challenges of monitoring natural phenomena in remote areas. While satellite technology has made these discoveries possible, much about the behavior of mud volcanoes and their ability to create short-lived islands remains unknown.