Abstract

Significant advances in the modeling of nearshore processes have occurred over recent decades as a result of developments in both computational approaches and theoretical understanding. This review examines the present state of progress primarily from a hydrodynamics standpoint, followed by a brief discussion of applications to sediment transport and morphological evolution. Wave-averaged formulations of the wave-current interaction problem and resulting models for wave-induced currents are reviewed in order to compare and contrast radiation stress and vortex force approaches. Waveresolving approaches are then discussed, with an emphasis on the recent rapid development of 3D nonhydrostatic models and their application to a wide range of physical problems. The recently developed understanding of the importance of vorticity generation mechanisms at wave-resolved scales, and their contribution to transport and mixing processes, are discussed.

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