The height of the tropopause varies significantly with latitude and season. Which of the following physical mechanisms best explains why the tropopause is lowest over the polar regions during winter?

Options:

• A: Extreme radiative cooling and lack of solar heating cause the air to contract and sink, lowering the boundary of convective mixing.
• B: Strong polar stratospheric winds push the tropospheric air downward into the Earth's surface.
• C: The high concentration of ozone at the poles absorbs all incoming solar radiation, eliminating the troposphere entirely.
• D: The Earth's centrifugal force is maximum at the poles, pulling the atmospheric layers closer to the surface.

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