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ISSN 2070-7401 (Print), ISSN 2411-0280 (Online)
Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa
CURRENT PROBLEMS IN REMOTE SENSING OF THE EARTH FROM SPACE

  

Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2025, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 267-281

Evolution of the ghost island (Kumani Bank/Island) in the southwestern Caspian Sea

M.I. Mityagina 1 , A.G. Kostianoy 2, 3, 4 , M.D. Kravchishina 2 
1 Space Research Institute RAS, Moscow, Russia
2 Shirshov Institute of Oceanology RAS, Moscow, Russia
3 Moscow Witte University, Moscow, Russia
4 Maykop State Technological University, Maykop, Russia
Accepted: 17.03.2025
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2025-22-2-267-281
The paper presents results of satellite monitoring of the evolution of the ghost island (Kumani Bank/Island) located in the southwestern part of the Caspian Sea. The monitoring was carried out from 1993 to 2025 and was based on data from multispectral sensors of the optical range — MSI (Multispectral Instrument) of the Sentinel-2A, -2B satellites, scanning radiometers TM (Thematic Mapper) of the Landsat-5 satellite, ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus) of the Landsat-7 satellite, OLI (Operational Land Imager) and OLI-2 of Landsat-8, -9 — as well as data from the C-SAR synthetic aperture radar of the Sentinel-1A, -1B satellites. We used satellite data with high spatial resolution of 10–30 m which allowed us to detect the time of appearance and disappearance of the island on the sea surface, as well as reveal its exact dimensions. Since 1861, the island has periodically appeared as a result of mud volcano activity, existed for several months and then disappeared, washed away by currents. Using satellite data, we considered the main stages of changes in underwater mud volcanism in the Kumani Bank area over more than thirty years: relatively long periods of quiet gryphon activity and then a sporadic activation with a massive release of a gas-water-mud mixture — a paroxysmal phase of the eruption accompanied by the spread of clearly expressed tongue-shaped plumes from the bank/island. We found out that in the Kumani Bank area there are no signs of seabed oil seepages, since no oil films are observed at the water surface in the sea area around it, unlike the water area lying to the south and characterized by a constant discharge of oil fluids at the bottom. In the paper, we discuss various mechanisms for the appearance and disappearance of the island on the sea surface, including changes in the level of the Caspian Sea.
Keywords: Caspian Sea, Kumani Bank/Island, mud volcanoes, islands, satellite images, satellite monitoring, satellite radar, visible range data, C-SAR, Sentinel-1, MSI Sentinel-2, OLI Landsat-8, OLI-2 Landsat-9
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