Dr. Lukas Arenson (BGC Engineering Inc. and University of Manitoba, Canada)
Dr. Lukas Arenson is a leading expert in permafrost engineering, with more than 25 years of experience in consulting and research. He is a Principal Geotechnical Engineer at BGC Engineering in Vancouver, Canada, where he specializes in frozen soil mechanics, periglacial risk assessments and geothermal modelling. He holds a PhD in civil engineering from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, where he studied the effects of climate change on mountain permafrost stability (specifically rock glaciers). He has been working in permafrost environments in Canada, Alaska, Greenland, the European Alps, the South American Andes and Asia. He has contributed to various projects on infrastructure and mining development in the Arctic and mountain permafrost, as well as on climate change resilience, adaptation, and mitigation for northern infrastructure. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Manitoba and at Polytechnique Montreal, and a frequent lecturer on permafrost engineering for academic and professional audiences. He has authored and co-authored numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals and books on topics related to frozen soil mechanics, permafrost engineering, rock glaciers and glaciology. He serves as an editorial board member of the Canadian Geotechnical Journal and has been an associate editor of Permafrost and Periglacial Processes and a member of the editorial board of Cold Regions Science and Technology. He is also actively involved in the development of standards and guidelines for permafrost engineering. Lukas has received several awards for his work, including the Troy L. Péwé award in 2003 and the Roger J. E. Brown Memorial Award from the Canadian Geotechnical Society in 2010 and 2022. He is past president of the Canadian Permafrost Association and currently Vice President of the International Permafrost Association.
Conference Summary
The high-elevation landscapes of the South American Andes are undergoing profound transformations as a result of rapid climatic change. Glacial and periglacial environments, which influence water storage and transport, sediment transfer, and slope stability in these mountain regions, are responding in fundamentally different ways.
Andean glaciers are reacting rapidly to changes in atmospheric temperature and, critically, to shifting precipitation patterns. Variations in snowfall, high solar radiation, shifting zero-degree isotherms, and altered seasonal precipitation regimes exert an immediate impact on glacier mass balance, leading to accelerated recession, thinning, and disappearance of glaciers. These fast responses translate directly into short-term changes in runoff magnitude and timing, increasing both water scarcity risks in dry seasons and flood hazards during extreme events.
In contrast, permafrost and the periglacial environments in a broader context respond much more slowly to climatic forcing due to their thermal inertia and the buffering effects of ground ice and the active layer. Permafrost degradation in the Andes is primarily driven by long-term increases in ground temperature, while changes in precipitation play a comparatively minor role. As a result, periglacial landforms, such as rock glaciers, may continue to store ground ice and very slowly release water at unnoticeable rates long after glaciers have disappeared. However, this delayed response may influence ongoing destabilization processes, including progressive loss of ice strength, enhanced creep rates, and the potential development of deep-seated slope instabilities.
The unprecedented rate of ongoing climate change has no historical analogue, amplifying the divergence between fast-responding glacial systems and slowly adjusting periglacial environments. This growing imbalance is generating novel and poorly understood conditions for hydrological systems and geohazards, including compound hazards and risks that may involve glacier lake outburst floods, permafrost-related slope failures, and cascading downstream impacts. Understanding these asynchronous responses is critical for anticipating future water availability, managing high-mountain hazards, and developing robust strategies to build climate change resilience in Andean regions increasingly exposed to climatic extremes.
Profiles
