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nautical mile  noun - a unit used in measuring distances at sea, equal to 1,852 meters

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The tip of the iceberg is just a phrase. It can be used for everything we know very little about. When an iceberg is floating in the ocean only around 1/9 of it is visible. The rest is underwater and we do not know how big it is or how it looks like.

Icebergs are giant floating ice blocks. They began their life as part of glaciers and most of them are thousands of years old. When a glacier reaches the ocean it either continues to grow or breaks apart into icebergs. Once the iceberg is free it is carried by ocean currents and they have been observed almost everywhere in the world. Their life span is between 3 and 6 years. The size varies from one of an automobile to the size of 80 meters skyscraper. 

Their blue color is given by the way they are formed. Glaciers are created when snow is accumulated with time and then is compacted into ice under the forces of gravity. Then its immense weight eliminates all the trapped air and the result is almost perfectly cleared ice.

Although they are floating ice blocks icebergs are homes to incredibly complex ecosystems. Small fish use them as protection from predators while mammals like whales and even birds come to them for hunting. When icebergs interact with seawater they constantly melt creating areas with fresh water up to one nautical mile in radius. 

After everything learned we are still at the tip of the iceberg. There are many things we still do not know about them and this is the reason they are such an interesting theme for many explorers.

The tip of the iceberg.