Two Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometers (AMSs) were deployed at Trinidad Head on the north Californian coast during the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation 2002 (ITCT 2K2) experiment, to study the physiochemical properties of submicron aerosol particles within the Pacific marine boundary layer. One AMS was modified to allow the study of sea salt-based particles, while the other used a temperature cycling system on its inlet. The reported loadings increased by a factor of 2 when the temperature approached the dew point, which is due to the inlet performance and has implications for other AMS experiments and applications. The processed data were compared with those of a particle into liquid sampler-ion chromatograph and showed that the ammonium, sulfate and organic fractions of the particles were consistently found within a single, normally acidic, accumulation mode at around 300–400 nm. However, when influenced by land-based sources, vehicle emissions and increased ammonium loadings were seen. The concentrations of nitrate in the accumulation mode were low, but it was also found within sea salt particles in the coarse mode and can be linked to the displacement of chloride. The organic fraction showed a high degree of chemical ageing and evidence of nitrogen-bearing organics was also observed. The particulate organic data were compared to the volatile organic carbon data derived from an in-situ gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer-flame ionization detector and relationships were found between the gas and particle phase chemicals in both the overall concentrations and the levels of oxidation.