Waters from tropical tower karst in an area with no seasonal variations in temperature show marked variations in their dissolved carbonate chemistry. Saturation indices for calcite and dolomite indicate that most samples are saturated to supersaturated with these solids. Calculated log PCO•. values for the waters give a mean of -2.12 + 0.41. Measured PCO•. values for the soil atmosphere and soil leachates give a mean log PCO•. of-1.43 + 0.07. The wide variation of springwater PCO•. is best explained by a predominantly closed system evolution from the initial PCO•. of the soil. • Now at School of Environmental Sciences, University of East outcrop; dolomitized areas do, however, occur around Krabi Anglia, Norwich England. ' on the eastern edge of the outcrop. The exterior faces of the Copyright (D 1978 by the American Geophysical Union. towers are extensively covered with thick tufa deposits: Paper number 8W0268. 961 •