| Abstract: | A review of the characteristics of segregated surfaces and consideration of the origins of the terms armoured and paved suggests that the two terms are interchangeable, and that neither term is specifically associated with a particular segregation process. The dichotomy between segregated surfaces which are formed in channels in which the entire range of bed material is mobile under the prevailing hydrologic regime, and segregated surfaces which are intrinsically stable, forms the basis of an elementary distinction between different types of segregated surface. It is suggested that the term stable armour or stable pavement be applied to those cases where the segregated surface is considered to be inactive under the prevailing hydrologic regime, and that the term unstable armour or unstable pavement be applied to cases where the segregated surface experiences periodic mobilization. |
