The paleohydrographic network of the Taman peninsula based on remote sensing data

The localization of Ancient Greek settlements on the coastline of the Kerch Strait has been included in scientific discourse for more than a century. According to the opinion prevailing in historiography, noticeable changes in the outline of the Taman Peninsula over the last 2500 years have been caused by fluctuations of the sea level. In our view, the tectonic factor has played a key role in alteration of the Taman relief. Therefore, the paleogeographic reconstructions that have been made by now need to be verified and clarified. This paper focuses on the study of the hydrographic network of the region. Based on the analysis of space images, aerial photography and geomorphological observations, we localized the hydrographic network of the past and the present, determined types of fluvial relief forms, characteristics of their topography and morphology. The comparison of the areas of ancient and modern streamflow localization shows that in the past 2500 years in some areas of the Taman peninsula the stream flows have changed their direction, apparently, because of tectonic realignment. It was found that tectonic revival in the region occurred in specific blocks. Likely contours of two paleostraits were clarified and sites for drilling test wells were selected. The ancient stream flows localized are correlated with the areas with high density of settlements during the second half of the 6th BC - first quarter of the 5th century BC.