Engineering Physics Annotation << Back Research of the Hydrological Characteristics Features of the Pacific Water Masses in the Area of the Kuril Islands Tikhonchuk E.A. The characteristics of water masses in the Kuril Islands area are the result of an active process of mixing the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean. The Okhotsk and Pacific structures of water differ signifi cantly in the nature of the distribution of temperature and salinity in depth. The work analyzed data from measurements of hydrological characteristics of water masses in the part of the Pacific Ocean near the Kuril Islands. Minimum values of surface water temperature were observed in this area near the Kuril Islands, compared to remote points in the Pacifi c Ocean. The weakening of the effect of mixing processes was observed at a distance of about 150 km from the Kuril Ridge, and the water masses acquired the character of a vertical ocean structure. Keywords: Kuril Islands, Pacifi c Ocean, cold intermediate layer, temperature distribution. DOI: 10.25791/infi zik.12.2024.1449 Pp. 73-78.