And a meter was (initially) defined as :

"1 / 10 000 000 of the distance from the pole to the equator."

http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/meter.htm

So by the same reasoning the meter is a perfect nautical measurement as well just as the nautical mile the definitions are very similar.

So in this sense there is no difference. The only difference between old school (nautical miles/knots) types and new school (meters, m/s) is that it is a sh!t load easier if you do calculations in a decimal system.

But of course nautical life is fully dominated by tradition. So 60 bow seconds in a bow minute, 60 bow minutes in a degree, 360 degrees in a full circumnavigation.

Wouter