How absurd can it seem that in a world where the oceans are rising, somewhere a new island emerges instead? It happens in Caspian Sea, where Russian satellites have captured something unexpected: a strip of land that did not exist before November 2024. Scientists at theShirshov Institute They confirmed it during an expedition, but they couldn't get close enough to touch it. Shallow water and inclement weather kept it out of reach, like a mirage made of sand and sediment. But this nameless island tells a more complex story than it seems.
A small land that peeps out into the Caspian Sea
The island emerges slowly, almost with modesty. Stepan Podolyako ofShirshov Institute of Oceanology describes it as a flat, humid plain, complicated by sand ridges. The Russian expedition got close enough to take pictures, but landing was another story. Too little water, too much headwind.
It is located 30 kilometers from Maly Zhemchuzhny, in the northern part of the Caspian Sea: a place where the appearance of new islands is associated with cyclical processes of water level fluctuations. It's as if the largest lake in the world was acting up.
The Caspian Sea is retreating (again)
It's not the first time this has happened. In the 30s and 70s the Caspian Sea had already given a similar spectacle. But this time there is something different: the speed. Since 2006 the level has dropped by 2 meters. Since 2020 it has been losing 30 centimeters a year, like a leaky sink.
80% of the water comes from the Volga. But the longest river in Europe has found itself with about 40 dams along the route. It's kind of like asking someone to run a marathon with their shoelaces tied together.
Then there's climate change, which accelerates evaporation. And tectonic movements under the ocean floor. In short, the Caspian Sea he has a lot of problems all at once.
And now? When crisis becomes opportunity
The island could grow in the coming years. Scientists think it will become a nesting site for rare birds and a refuge for Caspian seals. Species that are already having a hard time with environmental changes. But there is also a dark side to the story: the Aral Sea, not far away, has practically disappeared. A postcard of what could happen here too, if things get worse: because, as we have seen with other water-related climate changes, when balances break, they break quickly.
A land without a name
The next shipment is scheduled for the second half of 2025. Only then do researchers hope to set foot on the island and give it an official name (I might suggest Gianluca, but that's probably not "bankable"). In the meantime, it continues to grow silently. A bit ironic, if you think about it. While we all watch the seas rise, somewhere new land is emerging. The Caspian Sea reminds us that the planet has more than one way to surprise us.
And not always in a good way.
