This is a fascinating example of a taboo climate subject we seldom hear from IPCC compliant science sources – quietly leaking out in Abstracts and presentations from the the COMNAP Sea Ice Challenges Workshop held in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia on 12-13 May 2015. I have only had time to read the top two presentations by the Chinese and the French.
A quote from the French Abstract – [Variations in both sea ice proxies, SOI and SAM present periodicities similar to solar activity cycles Gleissberg  and Suess cycles) showing an influence of solar activity on atmospheric and  oceanic circulation through the modulation of the SOI and SAM.] The sea ice proxies they ref to are derived from diatoms in sea floor sediment cores. Diatoms live near the ocean surface and when they die their minute siliceous skeletons contribute to the sea floor sediment.
SOI is of course the Southern Oscillation Index and SAM is the Southern Annular Mode. And we are told that carbon dioxide is the dominant cause of changes in climate.