One thing that strikes me in the infrared imagery AVHRR found on the DMI site
http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/lincoln.uk.php are the dark i.e. high emission fog / low cloud areas such as this
http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/images/MODIS/Lincoln/201402101251.NOAA.jpg.
I have to admit I have not made systematic comparisons to other years but it seems to me that the persistent dark streaks I have seen this winter are associated with the relatively warm temperatures on the surface. Yet what is seen in the IR images is not the surface, it is the top of low cloud which is warmer than the ice surface. This warmth is brought in from further south or higher up, adiabatic compression raising temp., this effect can be seen in small scale where fog flows off the Greenland ice to lower elevation.
With cloud cover outgoing longwave radiation from the surface may be high but similar or even higher intensity can come down from the cloudcover. Yet what is going out into space (from where the satellite sees it) is more energy, acting as a negative feedback to the radiative imbalance caused by atmospheric CO2. These are just some thoughts but as a mechanism which dumps heat from the planet via a warming arctic it would be important.
There is much I do not know about this, one element is: how much of the total radiated power/area is represented by what the satelite "sees" in a limited frequency band?
Any suggestions, pointers are appreciated.