Lac de Gras Lac de Gras Lac de Gras is a lake approximately north east of Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Lac de Gras was the centre of the diamond rush of the 1990s. There are two working, and one closed, diamond mines in the area, Diavik Diamond Mine, Ekati Diamond Mine, and the care and maintenance Snap Lake Diamond Mine. It was called Ekati by aboriginal peoples. The lake is ultraoligotrophic but supports a slow-growing but stable population of some eight species of cold-water fishes, including round whitefish, cisco, and lake trout. Lake trout dominate the lake, both numerically and
Permafrost carbon cycle to the atmosphere. Carbon stored within arctic soils and permafrost is susceptible to release due to several different mechanisms. Carbon that is stored in permafrost is released back into the atmosphere as either carbon dioxide (CO) or methane (CH). Aerobic respiration releases carbon dioxide, while anaerobic respiration releases methane. Carbon is continually cycling between soils, vegetation, and the atmosphere. Currently, carbon flux from permafrost soils is minimal, however studies suggest that future warming and permafrost degradation will increase the CO flux from the soils. Thaw deepens the active layer, exposing old carbon that has been in storage for decades, to