Basic Simulation
A simulation is a step up in complexity from a growth cycle. A simulation is a series of growth cycles that begins at a start date and completes at a stop date.

Initial Conditions
A simulation must be initialized with a set of conditions. These initial conditions are a) an integer value, or seed, that initializes the random number generator b) a value for each of the five growth coefficients and c) SLEUTH input images most closely representing the start date. With these initial conditions growth cycles are generated.

Growth Cycles
It is assumed that one growth cycle represents a year of growth. Following this assumption:

number of growth cycles in a simulation = stop_date - start_date

Conclude Simulation
When the required number of growth cycles has been generated, the simulation concludes.