Advances in numerical modelling of coral reef hydrodynamics: approaches, applications, and future perspectives

Coral reefs worldwide are increasingly facing numerous threats from both global and local stressors (e.g. mass coral bleaching, ocean acidification, coastal development, sedimentation, etc.). Low-lying reef-lined nations are also vulnerable to coastal flooding under sea-level rise and extreme storm events. A full understanding of coral reef hydrodynamics is a crucial step towards interpreting the wide range of physical, chemical, and biological processes within reefs related to the above issues. This article reviews the state-of-the-art advances in modelling approaches for coral reef hydrodynamics based on an extensive literature review, and classifies them into physics-based models of four groups (coupled wave-current models, Boussinesq-type models, non-hydrostatic models, and Navier-Stokes-equation-based models) and AI-based models. The applications of each model group in the reef environments are extensively reviewed. Their strengths, limitations and future development directions are also discussed.