Formation of a New Island of the Coast of Crimea

Abstract—The article considers the modern dynamics of Bakalskaya Spit (northwestern Crimea), the distal part of which separated in 2010, becoming an island. It is shown that in the last 200 years, the coastline to its east and west has retreated. Analysis of satellite data and geodetic surveys revealed that in the last 30 years, the distal part of the spit shifted northeast by 300 m and the western branch of the spit shifted east by 160 m. After separation of Peschany Island, its area was 0.56 km2; by 2018, it had contracted to 0.31 km2. The width of the strait that formed is about 1 km. It has been suggested that an increase in storm activity and an abnormally high Black Sea level in the previous period led to formation of the island under decreased sediment influx conditions.