Seismic wave sources and related methods are provided. A seismic wave source includes a housing, plural pillars and an excitation system. The housing is split in two halves along a plane including a longitudinal axis of the housing. The plural pillars are made of piezoelectric elements and are positioned inside the housing to have one end in contact with a semi-cylindrical middle portion of one half of the housing and another end in contact with a semi-cylindrical middle portion of the other half of the housing. The excitation system connected by wires to the plural pillars and is configured to provide electrical signals to the piezoelectric elements. Upon receiving the electrical signals from the excitation system, the pillars generate forces on the housing thereby generating seismic waves.