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In the area of the town of Tata (Hungary) there are several Quaternary travertine outcrops, of which the Porhanyó Quarry is the best-exposed one. The travertine of the Porhanyó Quarry can be vertically divided into six units. Algal and other phytoclastic and phytohermal grainstone, boundstone and floatstone are the dominant microfacies. On the walls of the quarry carbonate vents and cones were detected; these forms are indicators of former spring activity at the bottom of a shallow lake. The lake, fed by thermal springs, was formed in a siliciclastic floodplain. The upwelling thermal water brought quartz and other detrital grains from the underlying Pannonian siliciclastic sediments to the surface, concentrating them in the vents. The three main phases of lacustrine evolution were interrupted first by a drying and flooding event, followed by a fluvial-eolian event and finally by eolian sedimentation. The oxygen isotope compositions of the vents differ from the values of vertical sections and slope samples, whereas the carbon isotope compositions show less variation. The different facies migrated during the evolution of the Tata Travertine Complex due to changes in morphology and flow direction. The integrated model of lake evolution suggests an upward cooling climatic trend, beginning with a humid Mediterranean climate in the early phase and closing with a cold, dry continental one in the late phase. The Tata Travertine Complex shows a marked δ 13 C difference from the travertine occurrences of the Buda Mts. that is attributed to local effects. The ascending solutions at Tata may have infiltrated through organic-rich bedrocks and could have carried dissolved C enriched in 12 C.

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Platform carbonates of the Upper Triassic Dachstein Limestone in Naszály Hill have been karstified extensively over the past 200 million years. They provide an excellent example of polyphase karstic diagenesis that is probably typical of many subaerially exposed carbonate sequences. Seven karstic phases are recognized in the area, each of which include polyphase karstic events. The first karst phase was associated with the Löfer cycles. Meteoric waters caused dissolution; enlarged fractures and cavities, were filled by marine and/or vadose silts and cement. The second karst phase was caused by local tectonic movements. Bedding‐plane‐controlled phreatic caves were formed, and filled by silts. The third karst phase lasted from the end of the Triassic to the Eocene. This was a regional, multiphase karstic event related to younger composite unconformities. Bauxitic fill is the most characteristic product of this phase. The karst terrain reached its mature or senile stage with very little porosity. Narrow veins and floating rafts of white calcite marks karst phase 4, which resulted from hydrothermal activity associated with Palaeogene magmatism. The early Rupelian phase of Alpine uplift caused large‐scale rejuvenation of the former karst terrain (karst phase 5). Subsequently Naszály Hill was buried as an area of juvenile karst with significant porosity. A second period of hydrothermal activity in the area (karst phase 6) was induced by Miocene volcanism, which resulted in wide, pale green calcite veins. Finally karst phase 7 was of tectonic origin. Following the most recent, Miocene uplift of the Naszály Hill, the carbonates have again become the site of vadose karst development.

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