Walrus Haulout Audio Recordings Near Point Lay, Alaska, 2024

This dataset consists of a complete set of audio recordings collected near a large walrus haulout at Point Lay, Alaska, during September of 2024. The recordings were collected using the Song Meter Mini 2 (Wildlife Acoustics, Inc., Maynard, MA) at two sites, one within 150 m of a large walrus herd resting on shore and one placed more than 4 km to the south of the herd directly under the approach path of aircraft servicing the Point Lay runway from and to the west. Audio recording were analyzed for the presence of walrus and a summary table of events is available with this data release.
During the course of recording the walrus herd shifted south to within 40 m of the herd recorder. Specific herd locations interpreted from drone survey imagery, herd outlines, and satellite imagery are available to view in USGS data releases: Fischbach et al. 2025, https://doi.org/10.5066/P1CNBKN8,; Fischbach 2025, https://doi.org/10.5066/P1BFYBHG; and Fischbach and Douglas 2022, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9CSM0KN, respectively. Specific approach paths for aircraft arriving to and departing from Point Lay are published by the FAA. Three approach procedure charts for the Point Lay runways are available in FAA 2024.