Dissolved gases can preferentially accumulate at the hydrophobic solid-water interface as revealed by neutron reflectivity measurements. In this paper, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to examine accumulation of dissolved gases at a hydrophobic surface in water and sodium chloride solutions. The solvent-exchange method was used to artificially form gaseous domains accumulated at the interface suitable for AFM imaging. Smooth graphite surfaces were used as model surfaces to minimize the secondary effect of surface roughness on the imaging. The concentration of NaCl up to 1 M was found to have a negligible influence on the geometry and population of pre-existing nanobubbles, nanopancakes and nanobubble-nanopancake composites. The implications of the findings on coal flotation in saline water are discussed in terms of attraction between hydrophobic surfaces in water, bubble-particle attachment and hydrophobic coagulation between particles. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.