An investigation into single nozzle spray cooling heat transfer mechanisms with varying amounts of dissolved gas was performed using two powerful techniques. Time and space resolved heat transfer distributions produced by a single nozzle were measured using an array of individually controlled microheaters, while visualization and measurements of the liquid-solid contact area and the three-phase contact line length were made using a total internal reflectance technique. The presence of dissolved gas increased the effective subcooling of the liquid, and shifted the spray cooling curves to higher wall temperatures, but CHF was also increased. The phase-change heat transfer contribution was found to correlate directly with the contact line length for the experimental conditions tested. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.