Composition and energy spectra of anomalous cosmic rays observed by the geotail satellite

The composition and energy spectra of anomalous cosmic-rays (ACRs) in the energies 6 - 200 MeV/n have been measured during the period from September 1992 to August 1995 using the High Energy Particle instrument onboard the GEOTAIL satellite orbiting at 1 AU. A remarkable enhancement of ACR N, O, Ne and Ar is observed during the period. A flux enhancement of anomalous argon at 1 AU is confirmed by the GEOTAIL satellite. The first possible evidence for the emergence of a measurable sulfur component in ACR below about 20 MeV/n is found, The flux increase of anomalous sulfur with 10.4 eV FIP is smaller than that of ACR carbon with 11.3 eV FIP, and much smaller than those of high FIP elements, which suggests that the fraction of neutral carbon and sulfur atoms is significantly lower in the very local interstellar medium. (C) 1997 COSPAR.