Low-Energy Anomalous Cosmic Rays in the Ecliptic Plane: 1-5 AU

Anomalous cosmic-ray (ACR) oxygen (O) fluxes in the energy range 0.5-5.0 MeV nucleon-1 were measured in the ecliptic plane at 1 and 5 AU in 1997 and 1998. Using measurements from essentially identical instruments on the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) and Ulysses spacecraft, we were able to monitor the decrease with time of the ACR O fluxes in the inner heliosphere during the onset of solar cycle 23. The data obtained from three time intervals that are relatively undisturbed by solar activity during this period show that the e-folding time is approximately 140+/-40 days for the disappearance of 2-5 MeV nucleon-1 ACR oxygen from the ecliptic plane at 5 AU.