Inland water frequently occurs during harmful algal blooms (HABs), rendering it challenging to
comprehend the spatiotemporal features of algal dynamics. Recently, remote sensing has been
applied to effectively detect the algal spatiotemporal behaviors in expensive water bodies.
However, image sensor resolution limitation can render the understanding of spatiotemporal
features of relatively small water bodies challenging. In addition, few studies have improved the
resolution of remote sensing images to investigate inland water quality, owing to the image sensor
resolution limitations. Therefore, this study applied deep learning-based Super-resolution for
transforming satellite imagery of 20 m to airborne imagery of 5 m. After performing atmospheric
correction for the acquired images, we adopted super-resolution (SR) methodologies using
a super-resolution convolutional neural network (SRCNN) and super-resolution generative adver?sarial networks (SRGAN) to estimate the Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration in the Geum River of
South Korea. Both methods generated SR images with water reflectance at 665, 705, and 740 nm.
Then, two band-ratio algorithms at 665 and 740 nm wavelengths were applied to the reflectance
images to estimate the Chl-a concentration maps. The SRCNN model outperformed SRGAN and
bicubic interpolation with peak signal-to-noise ratios (PSNR), mean square errors (MSE), and
structural similarity index measures (SSIM) for the validation dataset of 24.47 (dB), 0.0074, and
0.74, respectively. SR maps from the SRCNN provided more detailed spatial information on Chl-a in
the Geum River compared to the information obtained from satellite images. Therefore, these
findings showed the potential of deep learning-based SR algorithms by providing further informa?tion according to the algal dynamics for inland water management with remote sensing images.