Abstract Geodiversity and geosite assessments precede geoheritage and geotourism utilization. The process first determines the geodiversity value of an area (based on geoscientific attributions) and then the geotourism potential of the available sites. As a result, significant geosites can be identified, which are the bases for protection and tourism. During geosite assessment, scientific and infrastructural aspects are essential because spectacular sites and landscapes carrying intrinsic or visible values generate interest among tourists and professionals. In this study, a quantitative workflow to determine the geodiversity index over an area, evaluate geosites and monitor significant ones is presented. The study area is the Bakony–Balaton UNESCO Global Geopark, where no quantitative assessment was conducted previously. A GIS-based geodiversity analysis identified the most diverse areas which gave the basis for the geosite assessment done in a ‘geodiverse’ subregion of the geopark. The most important nine of the 75 identified potential geosites were chosen to examine the spatial variance of the assessment. By continuous monitoring, we got an image of what the visitors liked or did not like there. In this way, we were able to monitor the various opinions of geotourists to present unique development strategies for each of them. A connection between the location of geosites and the spatial distribution of geodiversity values was also determined by analysing and visualizing the connection between geodiversity and geosite assessment results.

ABSTRACT The first trace fossils in Hungary, dinosaur footprints, were found in the coal mines of the Mecsek Mountains. The footprints belonged to small theropod dinosaurs. The first fossil bones of vertebrate animals from present-day Hungary were found in 2000 in the mountainous region of Bakony. Numerous taxa have been collected from the locality of Iharkút. These fossils represent a diverse fauna (including fishes, amphibians, turtles, lizards, crocodilians, dinosaurs, birds, and pterosaurs) that lived between 85.8 and 83.5 m.y. ago in the Santonian Age during the Late Cretaceous period. Paleoart can depict these fossil remains in an engaging way to help inform the public about the ancient creatures of Hungary. This chapter provides an overview of how the Mesozoic vertebrates from Hungary have been reconstructed for scientists and the public.

Abstract Boda Claystone is a very tight clayey rock with extreme low porosity and permeability, nano-size pores and small amounts of swelling clays. Due to this character it is ideal as a potential host rock for research into the possibilities of high-level waste deposition in geological formation. Though the research started more than 30 years ago, the genesis, the geotectonic history of the Boda Claystone Formation (BCF) and the geology of surrounding areas has only been sketched out recently. On the basis of research of the past few years the process of sedimentation of different blocks was able to be reconstructed. Equipment and methodological developments were needed for the investigation of reservoir geological and hydrodynamic behaviour of this rock, which began in the early 2000s. Based on them the pore structure and reservoir could be characterized in detail. Only theoretical approaches were available for the chemical composition of free porewater. Traditional water-extracting methods were not adaptable because of excessively low porosity and nano-scale pore size distribution. Hence, new ways have to be found for getting enough water for analysis. These new results of BCF research help to prepare more sophisticated and directed experiments, in which there is a great interest internationally.