Black Sea deluge hypothesis

The Black Sea deluge is the best known of three hypothetical flood scenarios for the Late Quaternary history of the Black Sea that have been proposed since 1997. One other flood scenario proposes a rapid, even catastrophic, rise in sea level of the Black Sea. The maximum depth of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits is 110 meters (360 ft) and 103 meters (338 ft), respectively, which would put them above the ocean levels in the Last Glacial Maximum, some 125 meters (410 ft) lower than in present times. The hypothesis is controversial, with other authors arguing for a more gradual inundation of the Black Sea.