As Charlie Brown would say: good grief.

DH: "1)assuming the entire ice pack is just below the melt point."

Wrong! Not the entire ice pack ... some of it. More than in the past.

DH: "2)exposed ground melts ice above it. if ice is above it how is it exposed."

Apparently the concept of heat-islands, written about for many decades, has eluded you. Go to Wikipedia and look up:

1. Convection
2. Conduction
3. Radiation

Dark surfaces absorb heat more readily and reradiate it in the infrared heating the surrounding air. This creates a self-reinforcing affect.

DA Morgan