There's an app for that [Capital (Annapolis, MD)]

(Capital (Annapolis, MD) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) With more and more of us using smartphones, developers are coming along with "apps" that put environmental knowledge in the palms of our hands.

Here's a look at some apps that can be helpful in the Chesapeake Bay region.

Field Guide to the Chesapeake Bay Developed by the nonprofit Chesapeake Bay Trust, this app puts several field guides' worth of information just a few taps away.

Users can pick where they are in the bay's watershed - Central Maryland or Virginia mountains, for example - to help identify plants and animals they might see. There are sections for poisonous and dangerous species, as well as threatened and endangered species.

It features sharp, color photos and detailed descriptions for each species. The entries for birds include audio files of a bird's call.

(Free. For iPhone/iPad/iTouch only.) Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System This app from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the nonprofit Chesapeake Conservancy shares data from the nine "smart" buoys in the Chesapeake Bay.

Much of the data collected by the bright yellow buoys are shared through this app, including weather readings such as air temperature, wind speed and humidity.

Water quality data also is included, such as chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen, salinity and water temperature. There's also information on wave heights and direction.

Two of the buoys are close by - one is offshore from Annapolis near the mouth of the Severn River and another is in the Patapsco River.

(Free. For iPhone and Android-capable phones.) Leafsnap Developed by Columbia University with help from the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution, Leafsnap uses a phone's camera to identify leaves on trees.

Leafsnap currently includes trees from the New York City and Washington, D.C., areas, with more regions in the works.

(Free. For iPhone and iPad only. Versions for Android, Blackberry and Windows phones are in development.) Marine weather There are many apps available that offer marine weather conditions and navigation information.

Some of the apps recommended by readers of The Capital include Tide Prediction, Marine Weather by Bluefin and Navionics.

National Park Service This fall, the National Park Service will begin developing an app to help people learn about places to visit in the Chesapeake Bay region.

The app is expected to include museums, parks, wildlife refuges, historic sites, water trails and hiking and biking trails, said Cindy Chance of the park service.

It will highlight special initiatives the park service has in this area, including the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail and the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network.

It initially will be available for the iPhone, with an Android version available later if there's enough funding.

- Compiled by Pamela Wood (c) 2011 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.

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