Spectroscopy and predissociation dynamics of (H2O)2 and Ar-H2O are investigated with vibrationally mediated dissociation (VMD) techniques, wherein vOH=2 overtones of the complexes are selectively prepared with direct infrared pumping, followed by 193 nm photolysis of the excited H2O molecules. As a function of relative laser timing, the photolysis breaks H2O into OH and H fragments either (i) directly inside the complex or (ii) after the complex undergoes vibrational predissociation, with the nascent quantum state distribution of the OH photofragment probed via laser-induced fluorescence. This capability provides the first rotationally resolved spectroscopic analysis of (H2O)2 in the first overtone region and vibrational predissociation dynamics of water dimer and Ar-water clusters. The sensitivity of the VMD approach permits several vOH=2 overtone bands to be observed, the spectroscopic assignment of which is discussed in the context of recent anharmonic theoretical calculations. 鲰05 American Institute of Physics