Bias correction methods from the World Meteorological Organization Solid Precipitation Measurement Intercomparison Project are applied to 31 years of the Arctic Ocean drifting station records. Observation biases of wind-induced gauge undercatch and trace amount of precipitation are corrected on a daily basis. Gauge-measured mean annual precipitation is increased significantly from 150mm to 260mm due to the bias corrections. The seasonal cycle of bias corrected precipitation over the Arctic Ocean is characterized by a minimum in April and a maximum in September; this regime is consistent with other precipitation climatologies for the Arctic Ocean and is also in general agreement with several climate model simulations. The results of this work will have a significant impact on the Arctic fresh water budget, and they will also be useful for validation of global and regional climate models. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union