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Then & Now: Life Beneath the Chesapeake Bay

by Staff |  August 28, 2026

Inventor Gilbert Klingel (Left) and photographer Willard Culver (Right) lie in the 3-000 pound Aquascope submersible, waiting to be lowered into the Chesapeake Bay on one of its 1953 voyages. Photo courtesy of the Mathews Museum.

In 1953, naturalist and inventor Gilbert Klingel and National Geographic photographer Willard R. Culver braved the depths of the Chesapeake Bay in a 3,000-pound vessel called the Aquascope, capturing never-before-seen color photographs of the wildlife at the bottom of the country's largest estuary.

Those photos are now on display at the Mathews Museum of Virginia in a new exhibit entitled "Gilbert Klingel: Man of Steel," presented in partnership with William & Mary's VIMS & Batten School. 

Journey to the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay

Scroll down this page to explore photographs of Bay life captured during the 1953 Aquascope voyages along with information about current research on these species by VIMS scientists and Batten School students.

Introduction

A chain surrounded by bubbles and down arrows.

"Suspended in a green haze, we were on our way to the bottom. Our purpose was to study at close range and to photograph, in color, the creatures that live in swarming millions in the Bay's depths."

- Gilbert Klingel, "One Hundred Hours Beneath the Chesapeake," National Geographic, 1955.

Introduction

A chain surrounded by bubbles and down arrows.
Black sea bass photographed during 1953 Aquascope voyages. Photo by Willard Culver for National Geographic, courtesy of Mathews Museum.
Black sea bass photographed during 1953 Aquascope voyages. Photo by Willard Culver for National Geographic, courtesy of Mathews Museum.

Black Sea Bass

THEN

"These bass were an interesting demonstration of protective coloration. Close to our windows, their bodies appeared a beautiful gun-metal black, and their eyes shone deep, iridescent blue. This is the way they appear in open air on the deck of fishing boats. So pronounced is their hue that no alteration in color seemed possible: yet they were to learn that a distance of only two or three feet so altered their appearance that they were nearly indistinguishable from their surroundings." - Klingel, National Geographic, 1955

NOW

The Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata) is one of the fish species monitored by VIMS scientists as part of the Juvenile Finfish Trawl Survey. While adults are infrequently encountered by the survey, juveniles are collected more regularly. They are diurnal feeders, with juveniles feeding on small crustaceans while adults feed on bivalves, fish and crabs.

View Monitoring Data
Sea anemones photographed during 1953 Aquascope voyages. Photo by Willard Culver for National Geographic, courtesy of Mathews Museum.
Sea anemones photographed during 1953 Aquascope voyages. Photo by Willard Culver for National Geographic, courtesy of Mathews Museum.

Sea Anemones

THEN

"Delicate colors and petallike tentacles suggest the flowers of the land, but sea anemones are animals nonetheless. Unlike their relatives, the jellyfish, they do not float free but cling tight to any anchorage. Anemones, never still, spend their hours twitching and quivering as if afflicted with St. Vitus's dance. Small creatures brushing against the seemingly innocent tentacles are paralyzed by minute poisonous barbs, then drawn remorselessly into the animal's waiting mouth." - Klingel, National Geographic, 1955

NOW

The VIMS Invertebrate Collection holds many sea anemone and other invertebrate specimens, totaling over 40,000. As part of a recent grant, the collection digitized many of its records and produced educational lesson plans for use in K-12 classrooms.

Learn More
Blue crab feasts on bait, photographed during 1953 Aquascope voyages. Photo by Willard Culver for National Geographic, courtesy of Mathews Museum.
Blue crab feasts on bait, photographed during 1953 Aquascope voyages. Photo by Willard Culver for National Geographic, courtesy of Mathews Museum.

Blue Crabs

THEN

"By dozens these long-legged blue and green crustaceans came stealing out of the weed aisles, creeping sideways across the sand and up to the bait at our windows. They tore and shredded the tender flesh with their claws, cut it into ribbons, and shoved it into their mouths, where it was ground into shreds. 
It was a grotesque scene." - Klingel, National Geographic, 1955

NOW

The annual Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, conducted cooperatively between Virginia and Maryland since 1990, is considered one of the most comprehensive fishery-independent blue crab surveys on the East Coast. The latest survey found an estimated 349 million blue crabs live in the Chesapeake Bay.

Learn More
Oyster toadfish, photographed during the 1953 Aquascope voyages. Photo by Willard Culver for National Geographic, courtesy of Mathews Museum.
Oyster toadfish, photographed during the 1953 Aquascope voyages. Photo by Willard Culver for National Geographic, courtesy of Mathews Museum.

Oyster Toadfish

THEN

"For all his lack of beauty, the male toadfish has a highly developed paternal instinct and zealously guards his mate's eggs against intruders. 'Of all the fish we met,' says the author, 'toadfish were the most curious and fearless. Often they came swimming out of the haze, propped their chins against the window, and stared at us as we worked switches and cameras. Curiosity abated, they crawled under the window ledge and went to sleep.'" - Klingel, National Geographic, 1955

NOW

VIMS researchers have used CAT scans to study these fish and create 3D models of their skeletons, learning more about their biology and evolution. The Nunnally Ichthyology Collection at VIMS also holds dozens of toadfish specimens. 

Learn More
Sea nettle jellyfish, photographed during 1953 Aquascope voyages. Photo by Willard Culver for National Geographic, courtesy of Mathews Museum.
Sea nettle jellyfish, photographed during 1953 Aquascope voyages. Photo by Willard Culver for National Geographic, courtesy of Mathews Museum.

Jellyfish

THEN

"The Cheapeake contains jellyfish in such incredible numbers that at times they can be reckoned in the billions. Most of them are so diaphanous and frail as to be barely distinguishable, and one can swim through their packed bodies without being aware of them. Some are poisonous, others harmless. Some are exceedingly small, others big. The larger ones may be stringly colored and may trail yard-long streamers of stinging tentacles. Yet, though we saw them at times in the hundreds, we found photographing them one of our more difficult assignments." - Klingel, National Geographic, 1955

NOW

VIMS scientists produce daily forecasts of where Sea Nettles will likely be in the Chesapeake Bay as part of the Cheaspeake Bay Environmental Forecasting System, part of the new Center for Excellence in Environmental Forecasting.

View Forecast

Visit the Aquascope Exhibit

The "100 Hours Beneath the Chesapeake" exhibit is now open at the Mathews Museum, located in the historic Mathews Court House. You can view the original steel Aquascope submersible, look at archival images, dive notes, illustrations, and more. 

Visit Mathews Museum Website