Most of what we are seeing is called pack ice. Pack ice is made up of various sizes of ice pieces that are floating with the currents. Loose or open pack is when the pieces of ice are spread apart with water between them. Close pack is when the pieces of ice are pretty close together and you can't see much water at all. Pack ice can be found around the continent of Antarctica at all times of the year.
Sea ice is the name given to all the ice that freezes from the sea water.
It can grow to a thickness of many feet. During the winter, the amount of ice around the continent grows substantially. Antarctic sea ice cover varies from a minimum of four million square kilometers in February to a maximum of 20 million square kilometers in September. As you can see, sea ice doesn't just happen all at once. As it gets colder in the Antarctic autumn, some of the open water develops needle-shaped crystals forming a slush.