POLAR-AOD network aims to characterize the means, variability and trends of the climate-forcing properties of aerosols in Polar Regions. The primary objective is to connect stations where observations of aerosol properties along the atmospheric vertical column are carried out to obtain data needed to quantify aerosol physical and radiative properties at high latitudes, including seasonal background concentrations inferred from aerosol optical depth AOD measurements, spectral characterizations, and patterns of natural and anthropogenic processes that influence the radiative balance of the surface and atmosphere.