Here one day, gone the next: NASA satellites track disappearing 'ghost' island
Mud volcanoes aren't uncommon in this part of the world.
In 2023 an island appeared in the Caspian Sea, about 25 km off Azerbaijan's east coast, and disappeared a year later.
NASA satelites tracked the emergence and disappearance of this 'ghost' island which, at peak view, measured about 400 metres across.
There are more than 300 recorded mud volcanoes in the area, and NASA says the temporary island is the result of one of them, called the Kumani Bank, erupting in 2023.
NASA satellites capture the before, during, and after of the island's emergence. NASA.
The Kumani Bank was first recorded in 1861, and this isn't the first time its eruptions have created transient islands.
In May 1861, the bank created an island measuring 87 metres across, standing 3.5 metres above the water. It eroded back into the sea a few months later in early 1862.
Its strongest eruption so far occurred in 1950, producing an island 700 metres across and 6 metres high.
Most of Azerbaijan's mud volcanoes are on land. The region lies in a convergence zone where the Araban and Eurasian tectonic plates collide.
Mud volcanoes can be dangerous, sometimes spewing debris and fire in the surrounding area.
With files from April Walker. Header image: NASA
