In anticipation of the start (in Fiscal Year 1988) of a new Office of Naval Research (ONR) Accelerated Research Initiative (ARI) on Ocean Surface Wave Dynamics, a workshop was held August 5–7, 1986, at Woods Hole, Mass., to discuss new ideas and directions of research. This new ARI on Ocean Surface Wave Dynamics is a 5‐year effort that is organized by the ONR Physical Oceanography Program in cooperation with the ONR Fluid Mechanics Program and the Physical Oceanography Branch at the Naval Ocean Research and Development Activity (NORDA). The central theme is improvement of our understanding of the basic physics and dynamics of surface wave phenomena, with emphasis on the following areas:precise air‐sea coupling mechanisms,dynamics of nonlinear wave‐wave interaction under realistic environmental conditions,wave breaking and dissipation of energy,interaction between surface waves and upper ocean boundary layer dynamics, andsurface statistical and boundary layer coherent str